If trying to maintain balance in your life and business makes you sometimes feel like you’re walking on a tightrope without a safety net in the Circus of Life, you’re not alone.
These days almost all of us have so many demands placed on us, sapping our time and energy. Life can feel like a three-ring circus. And if you’re not up there on the tightrope, you’re down on the ground trying to keep two-dozen plates spinning in the air. Especially when you’re trying to run a successful business.
Maintaining balance isn’t easy. It requires holding steady with the many responsibilities that are an everyday part of your life: home, family, friends, work, and self-care, while at the same time recognizing and fulfilling personal needs and wants. Finding and maintaining balance, when life can be so hectic is both an inside and outside job.
Here’s why…
Inside—Only you can take care of yourself
Consider how well you focus on self-care, both physically and emotionally.
- Do you eat healthfully and exercise regularly?
- Do you get enough sleep?
- Are you able to manage your stress levels?
- Do you set aside personal quiet time for yourself?
- Is creativity flowing freely?
- Are you implementing business building strategies?
- Do you make time to relax and have fun?
Outside—Reaching out to others provides meaning
Think about how you reach outside yourself, giving meaning to your life and others.
- Do you spend quality time with family and friends?
- Do you share and give back to life through your time, energy and experience?
- Do you contribute to the larger world, providing connection and purpose?
Balance—The key to a rich and fulfilling life
To discover how well your life is balanced, keep a log of how you spend your time. In a little notebook you can carry around with you, write down the hours you spend under the headings: “for me” and “for others.”
Also make notes of requests for your time (from family members, from coworkers or professional obligations).
Include “requests” from your physical and emotional self: “I wish I could take time to go for a walk today.” Or “Gee, I’d love to take a nap.”
Also jot down your feelings about how you are spending your time.
- Do you resent the responsibilities at home?
- Do you feel like you never get to do what you want to do?
- Do you rearrange your time, taking away from what you’d planned to do for yourself in order to do something for others?
- How does that honestly make you feel?
You may want to really think about all of these questions. Write them down and answer them as honestly as you can. You will soon become aware of where there is balance in your life and where there is not.
After a week or two, you might come to realize your core values more clearly, determining what’s most important to you. As a result, you can more easily make changes in your life that will create your desired health, well-being and joy—a balanced life.
Author’s content used under license, © Claire Communications
