21 Ways To Improve Life Balance April 29, 2014
Posted by nrhatch in Exercise & Fitness, Health & Wellness, Life Balance.trackback
1. Nurture your body, mind, and spirit.
2. Exercise is the fountain of youth. Regular exercise increases metabolism, regulates appetite, improves mood, enhances sleep, and increases energy.
Need some inspiration? Check out the Fitness-Photo Challenge on As My Camera Sees It and join the 12-week Fitness Challenge.
3. Get enough rest. Go to bed and get up on time so you can start the day unrushed. Take time each day to relax and unwind.
4. Simplify and unclutter your life. Less is more.
5. “Just Say No” to volunteer requests that don’t fit into your schedule or will compromise your sanity.
You are not the general manager of the universe. Delegate tasks to others.
6. Slow down. Allocate enough time for tasks. Pace yourself. Tackle major life changes and challenging projects in “small bites.” Don’t dump everything into your wheelbarrow at once.
7. Get organized so everything has its place, with backups for emergencies ~ an extra car key in your wallet or an extra house key hidden in the garden.
8. Separate idle worries from realistic concerns. If a situation concerns you, consider what you can do to resolve it. If you can’t do anything, let go of the churning anxiety. Keep breathing.
9. Take things one day at a time. Don’t worry today about what might happen tomorrow. If it never happens, you’ll have worried for nothing. If it does happen, you’ll end up worrying twice.
Worrying is interest paid on a debt we may not owe.
10. Live within your budget. Don’t use credit cards for ordinary day-to-day purchases unless you pay off the bill each month.
11. Talk less, listen more. Learning to K.Y.M.S. (Keep Your Mouth Shut) can prevent an enormous amount of hassle.
12. Do something for the Kid in You everyday. Build a library of wonderful memories.
13. Bring a book to read while waiting in line. Listen to books on tape or uplifting music while driving. Or use waiting time for mindful meditation or creative visualization.
Waiting time does not have to be wasted time.
14. Write down thoughts and inspirations. Keep a folder of favorite quotes on hand. Make time every day for a few minutes of quiet reflection.
15. Having problems? Try to nip small problems in the bud. Don’t wait until you’re in bed to worry about them.
16. Remember that the shortest bridge between despair and hope is often just a smile away.
17. Laugh. Laugh some more!
18. Be mindful. Use all five senses. Notice the blue sky. Listen to uplifting music. Inhale pleasant scents, aromas, and fragrances. Savor delicious tastes. Give someone a hug.
19. Take your work seriously, but yourself not at all. Sit on your ego.
20. Develop a forgiving attitude. Be kind to unkind people; they need it the most. Hanging on to anger and stale grievances doesn’t hurt them, it hurts you.
21. Be grateful for small blessings. Before going to sleep, think of one thing you’re grateful for that you’ve never been grateful for before. When we look for the best in life, we see it. Gratitude magnifies the good.
Aah . . . that’s better!
Related posts: Simplify Your Life * Clearing Clutter * I Don’t Want Stuff Anymore, Only Things (Raptitude)
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Spirit Lights The Way 
#17 makes my life a lot better.
I agree! It’s my #1 secret weapon/antidote to dis-ease.
Excellent! Making many of these routine has brought such peace into my life. It was a pleasure starting my morning reading this.
Thanks, Suzi. Glad you enjoyed. I’ve been making a point this week to focus on #2 which seems to improve the quality of #3 and expands #21.
should have called it 22 ways to improve your life, read it, great post, ought to be mandatory for everyone, what a world, amen
Thanks, bw. Glad it resonated with you. I find that creating lists like this reminds me to keep things in perspective and focus on first things first while allowing life to unfold.
i often live for today, well, i live for today, but planning helps, thanks for the help
I like #21, I try to live a life of gratitude and it helps keep things in perspective. I loved “you are not the general manager of the universe.” That is something as a control freak I need to keep in mind! 🙂 Great post!
Gratitude turns the ordinary into the extraordinary . . . the mundane into the miraculous. It’s all a question of attitude.
It’s such a relief to realize that we are not responsible tor keeping the earth on its axis.
Loved this, and sooo needed it. 9 is one I need to work on, and that quote about worrying, INSPIRING 🙂
Yay! Glad it struck a chord and just the right time. If you find you are trapped in “worry mode” . . . return to the present moment by focusing on your breath as you note things around you that you can see, hear, taste, touch, or smell.
Check … check … check … oops … check … check … oops ……
Time for spring cleaning around here before I get further down the list!
Thank you Nancy 🙂
Ha! The act of de-cluttering is a perennial pursuit around here too, Val. We give stuff away, making a dent in the extraneous, but (as yet) have not pared things down to the essential.
So many excellent thoughts, Nancy. The one that really struck a note with me is: “You are not the general manager of the universe.” Delegation is something I really must learn! And, K.Y.M.S. sure would help, too. 🙂
Thank you for mentioning my challenge and thank you most of all for all these easy, yet meaningful suggestions for making life for ourselves and others better.
My pleasure, J. I’ll include a link to your challenge in Thursday’s post as well ~ since it has a fitness focus.
Thanks, again. You know I’ll be here soaking up your wise words!
Most of my wisdom = “recycling” the wise words of others. 😎
And now I’m headed up to the pool to enjoy a Water Work-Out.
Hah! I’m joining my knitting group. Nimble fingers and all that “exercise” of mouth and hands!
Enjoy your day.
Great class with lots of splashing and laughing. I came home famished!
22. Caffeine
😉
Absolutely! Good food and drink are offshoots of #1, #6, #18, and # 21. I nurture myself every day by slowing down long enough to savor delicious flavors and give thanks for coffee.
Love and live #11 and 17!!!!!
Yes! And when we keep our clappers SHUT . . . we hear some really stupid stuff that fuels our laughter later! 😎
I’m starting a list of favorite quotations … #1 will be, “Worrying is interest paid on a debt we may not owe.” 🙂
Yay! Excellent start. I find that quotes are a great way to remember the “lessons” we need to learn/apply.
These are all really good suggestions. Two of them are favorites: Simplify and unclutter–less is more, and Listen more and talk less! Just those two would take off mounds of stress and I’m working on both. 🙂
Haha! I bet you don’t put your foot in your mouth too often ~ but just think of the energy we can save by listening. Glad you enjoyed the list.
This is great, Nancy! I absolutely love the line “Worrying is interest paid on a debt we may not owe” (my hubby always tells me things like this because I’m a bit of a ‘worrier’ sometimes) 😉
I can get a good case of the worries going if I don’t rein myself in ~ one thing I do is imagine the “best case scenario” of any apparent negative. It helps to remind me that the worst case scenario is not a foregone conclusion.
Brilliant, thanks Nancy! I LOVE this: “You are not the general manager of the universe” . . . now I’m off to do some delegation and exercise 🙂
Yay! Delegate a few “To Do’s” and then enjoy some stress-busting exercise as a reward! Aah . . . so much better!
Right now I am dealing and not worrying, switching off and hopefully an hours sleep will get my heart rhythm on an even keel to let my body warm up! Back tomorrow!
Close your eyes, relax, and feel better, GM.
As I read this, I found that some things I do incorporate regularly… but I definitely have room for improvement (exercise and sleep more, worry less – among a few other things!) I’d list them, but sitting on my ego is getting uncomfortable, so I’m going to walk for a bit 😛
Bwahaha! The Ego is a funny thing . . . happiest out in the open, preening in front of a crowd (or a mirror), while singing, “Look at me!”
I’m exercising a bit more with good results, Janna ~ Instead of 30-60 minutes 3x a week, my goal is 30-60 minutes a day. I’ve noticed an increase in my energy level (read that as “I feel less lazy and lethargic”) and I’m sleeping in longer stretches with more lucid dreams.
And my mood is arguably better ~> it would improve more if I turned off all the alerts from environmental groups who remind me how short sighted our energy and food policies remain.
In other words, becoming a bit more of an ostrich. 😎