From Zen Habits: http://zenhabits.net/balance/
“Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.” – Robert Fulghum
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Anastasiya Goers of Balance In Me.
Do you sometimes wonder whether your life is in balance? It is easy to know if you lead a balanced life because if you do then:
- you enjoy every moment and every second,
- you can cope with any difficulties,
- you can be happy without any reason to be happy,
- you can be yourself and love the person you are.
Today the world constantly tries to throw you out of balance and sometimes no matter what you do you still feel like your life is going in the wrong direction (I know I feel this way sometimes.) Balanced living might seem like one of those theoretical terms that nobody can put into practice but in fact there is nothing simpler than living a balanced life.
It might take some work at first but once you get in the flow and discover the simple ways to steer your life in your desired direction you will feel empowered. You will be inspired and energized by every day of your life. Your life will be full of amazing adventures and events that will make every day memorable. You won’t be wasting your life anymore or spending gloomy hours contemplating about the misfortunes that might have happened on your way.
Does balanced living mean that your life will be full of only positive people and events that will bring you happiness every moment of your life? Not at all.
Balanced living is when you can always offset any negative events in your life with positive ones. It is also when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Balanced living is when you are happy working and playing equally. If you picture happiness and everything great in your life as a diamond, then any negative things that may happen are just the setting that makes this diamond shine only brighter.
If you want to live a balanced life then there are 5 essential habits that you need to develop.
- Awareness and mindfulness. Awareness is the key to balanced living because it lets you see every moment of your life and appreciate it. A mindful person lives in the present and does not get obsessed with the future or the past. It’s important to plan for the future and learn from your mistakes in the past, but it is even more important to appreciate who you are right now and find joy in this state.
When you are aware of this moment you are calm and you do not make any decisions that you might regret later.
When you are mindful you are in balance with the universe.
- Appreciation of your body. By “appreciation” I mean taking care of your body. If you are grateful for the very first gift that you received in your life (your body) then you must take care of it. It means making healthy choices in life, exercising and being generally active, eating a balanced and healthy diet, letting your body rest when it’s tired and pampering it every once in a while.
Your body is the tool that lets you experience so many wonderful moments in life and you need to do your best when taking care of it.
Clearly, balanced living is not possible without a balanced body.
- Creativity. Every day we face a lot of challenges and choices in life. Some of these challenges might be easy while others will be more difficult. If you approach each of your challenges with creativity then your life will be filled with adventures. Conversely, if you turn off your creativity, then your life will turn into torture.
Creativity is a wonderful tool that lets us turn our dreams into reality, turn play into work and work into play, and enjoy life even when it seems empty.
Creative people are the ones who can make the exquisite setting for the diamond of their life.
- Patience. With patience we can overcome almost anything whilst without it we can ruin almost anything.
Patience can help us turn our dreams into reality (losing weight, starting a business or blog). It can help us be better parents, spouses, friends and even strangers (sometimes a smile from an understanding stranger can make the biggest difference when you are having a bad day). If you are patient you do not have to worry about the minutes spent in traffic or in the line at the grocery store. With patience you can see results in all your endeavors and you do not have to spend the precious time of your life getting mad or infuriated.
Patience leads to mindfulness and mindfulness brings you in balance.
- Simplicity. Simplicity is probably the most important part of life balance. When you build your life around simplicity you reduce the number of out-of-balance things that can disrupt your happy living.
In balance everything is simple. There are two opposites (like black and white) and you just have to pick something in the middle:
- Simplify you work schedule so that you do not have to think about a hundred things at the same time.
- Simplify your relationships by connecting with people you truly care about and getting rid of the ones you don’t.
- Simplify your diet by choosing simple healthy ingredients that are part of balanced nutrition.
- Simplify your social media exposure and enjoy living life and getting things done rather than wasting time online.
These habits have been my lifeline for many years and I cannot imagine a balanced (and happy) life without them.
Living in balance is easy and very rewarding because your life becomes the one of joy, happiness and serenity. If you put some time and effort into turning your life into a balanced direction then you too will live a truly Zen life.
Read more from Anastasiya at Balance In Me, subscribe to her feed and keep your life in balance.
