Finding a Balance

“Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them”. –Thomas Kinkade

There really should be more hours in a day!  I heard someone say, perhaps you have heard it as well that, “life is like a suitcase, some people are able to pack more into it” and I find this to so true!  There is and always will be so much that we need to get done that truly it would be cool if we were able to have a little extension permit to the day!  But the fact of the matter is, there is more to life than “getting all those things done” that is just as important and in fact will help us to be even more productive.

I heard it shared like this: Eat right, exercise right, work right, play right, love right, this is the formula for success.  And this is so true!  There are a few things that we absolutely cannot go without and they are eating and sleeping.  If you try to do away with those two activities you will be good for nothing else.  And even those activities need to be done right in order to maintain a balance in your life.  You do also need some “off time” to just let your hair down and relax and have some play time, all work and no play makes a very dull person in general.  And love right, yes inter-personal relations is all important, time to love and share moments together with others brings richness to your life and that of those around you!

Let’s break this down:

Eat right: Stop and take the time to eat a good balanced meal at the proper times during the day!  This does wonders to give you energy, try to avoid over eating in the middle of the day as this will cause you to lose concentration and will lessen your productivity during your working hours!

Exercise right: A few stretches everyday to get your body ready for the day, and take at least 3 days out of the week to have a real thorough work out in order to stay fit and healthy!  I just started up at a gym recently and have been amazed at how much more energy I have.

Work right: Did you know that the day actually starts the night before?  That’s right!  Plan your next day out so that you can make the best of it!  Make your schedule the night before and stick to it as much as is possible.  There are times that you will have an emergency to tend to, or things will not work out just as you planned but you can always work around that.  This will help reduce stress, raise productivity and make you feel good about yourself!

Play right: Yep, play is important, don’t take life too seriously, get some “off time” with your spouse, children or friends and do something fun together.  Get your mind off of your work for a bit so that once you have to get back to work, you will be refreshed, re-envisioned and renewed!  The person that you spend time with needs it too, and relationship will also be strengthened!

Love right: Yes, love plays a very important role as well.  Time with your family, and in particular your spouse! This can be simply enjoying a relaxed moment to share your heart together or a time to have a good love up time and some good sex (if available)!  Yes I did say sex and I think that now I will get 1000 hits more a day on my site! But having good sex is not only enjoyable, it is a necessity in life and God-given gift.  It certainly helps to reduce stress, so make sure you include this as well.

This is a pretty simple list, and to include all of this in your life will help you to bring a better balance and perspective to your life.  There is always a balance even in these different activities, too much of anything can be harmful, we are all different and our personal needs are also different so you will have to decide how much of what is best suited for you!

Do you have a balanced lifestyle?  From 1-10 how would you rate your ability to fill your “suitcase”?