10 Secrets to Living a More Balanced Life

Life is a beautiful, complicated ride filled with new experiences and surprises. Which is what makes it so much fun!

But when things start to get out of whack we start feeling unsecure and unbalanced. Especially when that dreaded, never-seems-to-end To Do list is constantly looming its ugly head over us.

But luckily there are some great tips and tricks to help pull you out of this funk so you can get things back on track and feel whole again. Below are my top 10 secrets to help you live a happier, more balanced life that you deserve.

1) Make Yourself the Priority

It might sound a little selfish, but putting your own mental and physical health first is the only way you’ll be able to juggle everything you have going on in your life.

2) The Power of Saying No

We’re talking about balance here and balance does not mean saying yes to every single thing that comes your way. It’s not about seeing how long you can juggle it all.

Trust me my friend, it is a guarantee that you will eventually drop all those balls you’re trying to juggle and find yourself heading right on down to burnout town.

Balance means understanding what’s important and what’s worthy of your time. Less important tasks on your to do list can be done at a later time, delegated to someone else or they can down right just fall off that list altogether. Be mindful of what you need in your life at this time and let go of what you don’t.

3) Where Does Your Free Time Go?

Ever catch yourself saying things like” I just don’t’ have time for that.” We all say it, but is it really true? Spend some time taking a deep, hard look at how you are spending your precious moments throughout the day.

Are they truly benefiting you and your greater purpose? Are there any pockets of time that could be repurposed to make room for things that matter to you? Take a deep dive into your day from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to bed. Where does the time go?

I read a statistic somewhere that said the average person spends 2 hours and 24 minutes on social media every single day! If that time was spent doing something else, what would you do instead?

4) Make a Plan

I am a huge list maker. I make lists for everything. Grocery lists, to-do lists, packing lists. You name it and I’ve probably made a list for it. Lists can be a great tool to begin to create a plan. Make a list of all the major buckets that you want to balance in your life. Think things like sleep, work, kids, relationship, social, me time. It might feel weird at first to “schedule” time for your loved ones, but if you feel like this is something you aren’t giving enough of yourself to then this is a great way to help you begin to shift your focus into other more important priories in your life.

5) Check-in with Yourself

Your body will always speak up when things just aren’t quite right. The important thing to remember is to listen. That feeling of being overwhelmed or stressed is your body’s way of saying it’s time for a pause. If you’re starting to get to that point relax, take a deep breath, reread point number two and re-evaluate things a bit. The greatest thing we can do is listen to ourselves and use it as a tool to help guide ourselves back to a state of equilibrium.

6) Communication

No one ever said you needed to do it alone. Don’t feel like you need to put the weight of the world on your shoulders. Talk to those around you. Let your friends and family know you are feeling overwhelmed. Just saying it out loud can be enough to help alleviate some of that burden. But maybe there are things friends, family or coworkers can do to help you through this. You were never meant to go at it all alone. Let others know how you’re feeling so they can help. Good communication is essential to living a more balanced life.

7) Positive Vibes

Keeping the negativity low and the positivity high can seem easier said then done. Especially when you’re in the middle of this beautiful balancing act called life. But bringing more positivity into your day will make the whole thing just feel that much easier. There are some simple things you can start implementing right now to help shift your mindset:

• Look at what type of content you’re consuming. How is it making you feel? Maybe consider switching to something happier and more upbeat. Something that brings you more joy and peace into your life.
• Try to limit the time you spend with toxic people.
• And lastly stop criticizing yourself. You are doing an awesome job!

8) Practice Mindfulness

The more mindful we are about what’s around us, the more in tune with ourselves we become. A great way to practice this is by going for walk outside and paying attention to every detail along the way. You’ll notice things you would have never noticed otherwise. Sometimes it helps to put a new perspective on things and see the world around from a different point of view.

9) Treat Yourself!

Don’t forget to treat yourself every once in a while. It’s great that you do so many wonderful things for so many people, just don’t forget about yourself every once in a while. Eyeing those new pair of shoes? Feel like getting your nails done? Dying for a day date with yourself at your local coffee shop? I say go for it! We all deserve a break once in a while and gifting ourselves some time to do the little things that make us feel good is an absolute must if you want to find any kind of balance in your life.

10) Thank Yourself

Take the time to thank yourself for everything you do. Not only what you do for others, but for yourself too. Thank yourself for taking some time today to workout, make a healthy meal, go for a walk or just taking that well deserved afternoon cat-nap. You do so much and give yourself to so many things. So take the time to appreciate all that you do on a daily basis.

At the end of the day life is all about change and growth. New priorities will enter your life and old ones will inevitably fall away. It’s an ever changing, always evolving process. It’s not always going to be perfect and that’s ok. No one ever said life was perfect. Life is simply about finding the balance.

Sending positive vibes your way.