Balancing the many demands of life is not simple. But if you are able to do it consistently, then you are well on your way to living a happy and fulfilling life. You create your future by the decisions you make today. So decide today to commit to life balance and enrich your life!
We have more time saving devices, but less time. Half of all marriages end in divorce. One third of all children are growing up in broken homes and spending more time in before and after school care. People talk in internet chat rooms without saying a word to their neighbour next door. We eat copious amounts of fast foods and are more obese than ever before.
We are very stressed by life, which seems to keep speeding up on us. We work longer hours and take less holidays. We are sadder than ever before. Australia is the third highest user of anti-depressant medication in the world. We are more contactable than ever before, often interrupted during family dinners or other important events by a mobile phone ring. Life balance is something we may expect to see on the high wire at the circus, but not in our own lives.
What is going wrong? And how do we fix it?
A wise man once said that success without fulfilment and happiness is failure. Too many people get ‘caught up' in trying to succeed in life, but are never truly happy. We have a real problem in balancing the many demands that life brings. Time is precious, and too few people value it like they should. Make a decision now to balance your life and success and happiness can be yours!
The 8 keys to a balanced life
- Balance is not static
In other words, life is forever changing! And so too is the correct balance for each of us. Year by year, week by week and day by day our balancing needs must be adjusted to suit current circumstances.
Key point: We move out of balance regularly and need to make a few adjustments to come back into balance.
- Balance is about value
To have a balanced, happy life we must be living our lives in line with our core values. Too many people spend copious amounts of time on areas of their life that just aren't that important.
Key point: If family is the most important thing in your life make sure you are devoting enough quality time to this area.
- Effective time management
To manage your time is to manage your life. To live a balanced life, you cannot afford to waste your valuable time on unimportant things. Procrastination is a common life balance killer as we often put off important things to another day. The trouble is that another day doesn't come, or it comes too late. Don't put off to tomorrow what can be done today, keeping in mind that it must fit in with what you value most.
Action item: Always ask yourself - what is the best use of your time right now?
- Enjoy the moment
How much of life do you enjoy on a day to day basis? Many people cannot enjoy themselves fully, because they are forever thinking about what they should be doing! A great example of this is an executive who takes his son to a soccer game and spends game time on the phone to clients! How much ‘quality' time do you spend with your loved ones? When was the last time you really had fun? Children laugh around 300 times a day on average. As adults, we laugh around 17 times a day. Why the big difference?
Key point: When was the last time you smelled the roses? No really, when was it, or have you forgotten?
- Set goals in all areas of your life
It is not enough to know what you truly value. You must plan and prioritise your life around these values! If you don't do this, it is very easy for your life to become out of balance. To ensure that you spend time where it counts, plan and prioritise your time on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. These might include: your child's ballgame, having a drink with a friend, or simply time reading a book. This only takes a few minutes a day, but can make the world of difference!
Key point: Use your diary to record personal commitments as well as work ones.
- Attitude of gratitude
Focussing on the many wonderful things you have in your life will give you more positive energy. Life is full of ups and downs, and we must accept that as part of our reality. We have a choice on where we focus our attention. Too often we focus our attention on disheartening thoughts rather than uplifting and motivating ones. Your life is what your thoughts make of it.
Key point: Change your attitude, and you change your life!
- Inspiring 86,400
If you work for 45 years, for 48 weeks a year for an average of 8 hours a day, you will amass 86,400 hours in your working life. That equates to 5,184,000 minutes! 86,400 is also a significant number in that it is the number of seconds we have available to us each day. So if we are going to work for that length of time, we may as well enjoy the process don't you think?
Key point: Enjoy your work, and life will be more fulfilling as a result, freeing up energy to spend doing what is most important.
- Stop making excuses
Excuses such as, "I'm too busy", "I don't have enough time", "My boss gives me no choice", etc. get in the way of you having a balanced life. We can all make up excuses as to why we can't do or have something. These excuses, however, do not get you any closer towards what you really want in life.
The truth is, you make time for what you believe to be most important.
For some, spending extra hours at work may seem absolutely necessary. This decision, like every choice we make, has consequences. These might include: spending less time with your children, spouse, friends and family or not getting to the gym and exercising. Going out on a corporate golf day and then working back to 10pm and not seeing your kids is a choice. Excuses do not change the choice that you made - but we often use them to justify our decision to escape the truth.
Key point: Life is a series of choices - and good choices lead to balance and happiness.
Author Credits
Blake Beattie is a director of Inspire Consulting and the Life Changing Experiences Foundation. Through coaching, speaking and training, Blake has provided long term, sustainable solutions to a number of different organisations throughout Australia, America, Canada and New Zealand. Blake delivers results. He is a dynamic and passionate speaker who connects with any audience to increase productivity and improve performance. www.blakebeattie.com