Balance… does it even exist?

 

It sure does! Thing is, when it comes to trying to find balance in our lives, most people overshoot the mark, focus solely on one area – creating a whole new imbalance, or have given up entirely.

 

 

A lot of people struggle with balance because life is not at all linear. There are areas in life that ebb, and others that flow, then as soon as you start to get a handle on things, they switch again. It can be easy to fall into a state of simply reacting to life’s events – but living in reaction usually ends up in stress, burnout, feeling depleted, and even weight gain and low energy.

 

So what can you do to move toward this ever illusive balance?

 

I personally have tried to defy this one more times than I’d like to admit… but it’s a proven fact that routines work. Having built in structure in place where you devote time to each area you want to focus on in your life makes things easy and intuitive.

 

Routine doesn’t have to be super restrictive either. When I first got sober, I kept a daily notebook with the actions I wanted to build into my routine – things like brushing my teeth, washing my face, or doing laundry weekly – things that would feel really uncomfortable not to do now.

A couple tips here, be realistic – don’t make a list of a hundred different things. Add things in slowly, a couple at a time. Then once they’ve become a habit, add in more. Also, you know yourself best, find a method that provides structure without being too restrictive. The goal is for this to become a lifelong, evolving, part of your daily life.

 

I can’t stress enough how much meditation can help in having balance (and reducing stress)! A few minutes of meditation can help you start your day proactively with a clear head. A lot of times we stray from balance, it’s when we are hyper-focused on one or two areas of life… and I have yet to meet someone who hasn’t struggled with it in one way or another at some point.

 

Meditation physically, mentally, and spiritually creates the space to honor your intentions of keeping your life in balance. The good news is, there are so many different types of meditation, you can find a method that works for you.

 

If you find that you’re spending most of your time and attention on one task or in one area of your life, step away for 15 minutes. Find something else to do, take a break, take a walk, it doesn’t matter as long as you physically remove yourself. If after 15 minutes and the ability to look at the other things you wanted to share your attention with, you still want to return the activity or task, go ahead.

 

This can really help prevent going down the rabbit hole on a project or task… or losing hours to TikTok, Facebook, or Netflix.

 

If you planned to have something be a part of your daily routine, get it done! I’ll make a deal with you… if you want to skip something you felt was important enough to make it part of your routine, do it today. Tomorrow, when looking at your day ahead you still feel like you can skip it, then don’t plan for it to be part of your routine for the day.

 

Sometimes, things come up that absolutely can’t be avoided. Usually, though, you can still accomplish what you needs to in the other areas of your life. For example, if your evening routine is usually getting off work, picking up kids, working out, dinner, winding down, then journaling, and getting cleaned up for bed but your tire blows out on the way to the gym – you might skip the gym that evening to be able to continue on your normal routine, but instead of watching TV to wind down (or hitting the gym later and not being able to fall asleep), you might opt to go for a walk. You still are able to get your exercise in – even if it doesn’t look exactly how you originally planned.

 

When your life is well balanced, you will probably find that you won’t be drawn to the areas a lot of us waste time (watching tv, scrolling social media, video games, etc), but those activities can be good ways to reward yourself.

 

When I set out to change the way I ate, every day I would have a single serving of Fizzl’d Skittles (long discontinued) each day. For months, I found it much easier eat smaller amounts and healthier foods knowing that I had that treat waiting for me at the end of the day. I also didn’t eat out and was working toward a better relationship with myself as well as managing my finances more responsibly. So every other week, I would take myself out on a “date” to a favorite restaurant that served some amazing pad thai. Both of these examples were things that I looked forward to and would help me stay committed to my goals. 

Again, you know yourself best so you know what motivates you. (And if you don’t, figuring out your motivators can be a huge help!) Find little ways to reward yourself each day after you’ve completed the things you planned out to get done. Also, find bigger rewards for each week or every other week to look forward to.

Do your goals in creating balance include weight loss? If so, grab my guide to Meditation in Weight Loss right here!

 

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What areas in your life do you feel like you lack balance? Share in the comments below with some actions you can take to shift into a more balanced lifestyle!