Skip to main content

7 Ways to Maintain Balance in an Unbalanced World


How can smart, busy people maintain balance as they put in long hours to achieve their career goals? Is it alright to live for a time unbalanced while pursuing your goals?

Here are 7 ways to help maintain balance:

  1. Identify your core values, those inner aspects of yourself that mean the most to you. These are the core of who you are; the values that help you identify what you want to be about; your goals and dreams. Share these with your spouse or partner; listen to each other’s dreams, goals, and commitments.
  2. Clarify action steps and a plan. Don’t let life just happen. If you do, your most important dreams (and people) will be pushed out of the way by the “tyranny of the urgent.”
  3. Make choices: What can be adjusted and what is non-negotiable?
  4. Communicate: Be honest with yourself, and those you love. Learn to communicate with the significant people in your life, this means the people at work also, so that they can understand your challenges. No one should have to be a mindreader to understand what’s going on with you.
  5. Listen: “Seek to understand and then to be understood.”
  6. Learn to let go of what isn’t working.
  7. Set boundaries on your time and learn to delegate, especially at work, but also around the house. There are plenty of people willing and able to do some of the “projects” that you have around the house. Find them and hire them!
Just as an airline pilot must adjust his flight plan constantly to arrive at his / her destination; winds shift, weather happens; so it is with life… winds shift and weather happens, learn to adjust and balance. And in answer to that second question, yes, it’s alright to live for a time in “unbalance” as long as you are clear on your objectives, and those you love are on board with your commitments and involved in your decision making process.

Image: istockphoto.com

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Focus on Beauty

There will be days when we must force ourselves to focus. There are so many distractions, and it's easy to be pulled this way or that. And as we're pulled, it's easy to get more and more uptight. I've found one way to heighten one's focus throughout the day is to be aware of the sometimes-small details, and the beauty around us. I typically use my early morning walks to make myself look past the obvious and focus on the details. Examples: the morning sun streaming through the window and creating shadows across the room the richness of evening light a clear reflection of a building in a street puddle the colors of the sky, the clouds, etc. a mother walking hand in hand with her child Then in the evening, I write down five of the things that stood out to me during the day. Some days, my list may include more obvious objects of beauty. Other days, the list might include small glimpses of something in passing, sights I may have previously walked right on ...

The Benefits of Lemon

About six months ago, I started a new daily habit - first thing in the morning I drink a cup of warm water with a slice of fresh lemon in it. I'd heard rumors that this was supposed to be good for you, and because I wanted to cut back on my tea with cream and sugar habit, it seemed like a good fit.  I'm kind of amazed to admit, I've noticed a big difference in how I feel. Instead of my normal somewhat sluggish/bloated feeling after my morning cup of tea - I now feel energized and ready to face the day. "Lighter" would probably be a good way to describe it... and lighter is always good! Below is a bit more information... Here are a few reasons for adding morning lemon water to your daily routine. *List originally published by the Edison Institute of Nutrition here   As a rich source of vitamin C, lemon juice protects the body from Immune system deficiencies. Drinking lemon juice with warm water every morning helps in maintaining the pH balance...

Friday's Gratitude - Saying Yes

"Saying yes is a way to be open to ourselves and others. It is a way to be open to the beauty of nature. It is a way to be open to life’s small gifts – the fuchsia flower blooming in the window, the Jack Russell puppy who tears down the beach after his owner, the fancily hand-decorated cupcakes in the bakery display case.... There are gifts for us at every turn – gifts of beauty, of humor, of love – if we are willing to accept them." Julia Cameron What are you saying “yes” to today?   Taken from Julia's book The Prosperous Heart - Creating a Life of "Enough"   Photo credit: istockphoto