Have you ever felt like there was something off and you couldn’t quite place your finger on it? Perhaps you felt a bit down for a few days without explanation. It could be that your life is simply out of balance.
We have several different areas of our lives in which we need to keep balance in order to maintain a sense of order.
- Family obligations
- Work
- Household chores and maintenance
- Finances
- Personal time, including hobbies, physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual time
- Sleep and rest
- Society
The lists are different for each person but these are the basic priorities for most people.
What happens when any area is not getting the appropriate attention is that we start to feel off balance. You may not notice the affects immediately. Your partner may tell you that they are feeling neglected, the kids may be pulling at you for more attention, you may notice you are getting cranky with everyone because they are demanding your time and you don’t have enough, you may start to feel fatigue or notice weight gain from not enough sleep or exercise.
The solution can be as simple as recognizing it. Once you realize you have been neglecting a certain important area of your life, rearrange your schedule a bit to accommodate that which is in need of your attention. Some times it requires you saying, “no” to areas of your life that have been consuming you. You will need to prioritize and maybe even delegate some things that have your plate overflowing.
You will start to notice a shift and feel a little more at peace when things are in alignment. Keep in mind for the future to not let the most important areas of your life slip through the cracks. Some things, especially time with those we care about require us to stop everything in order to focus on them.
We have the potential of making the mistake of placing one area of our lives as our sole priority. That never works. The scales will tip almost immediately and everything will feel out of balance. Relationships will suffer, work productivity will go down, you may end up getting physically ill, etc.
Understandably, there may be times when life forces you to have one main focus, such as when you have to be a caregiver to a sick child or family member for an extended period of time. That is understandable. When those times arise, you must rearrange your life so that others help you as well so that the balance is kept. It’s okay to ask for assistance when you absolutely need it. There are times when you will simply not be able to do it all.
Take one day at a time, pay attention to how you feel and the way your body is responding as well as how the people in your lives are reacting to you, and you to them. It is possible to have a life that is in balance. It may take time to figure out how to juggle everything but it is possible. Remember to focus on the solution and not the problem itself.
What areas of your life are out of balance?
Don’t forget to sign up for updates to this blog and share with friends on Facebook and Twitter. As always, I appreciate you stopping by. For further tips and inspirations on how to reduce your stress and increase your inner peace and happiness, please see the posts on the right or search through the categories to find exactly what you are looking for. ~ Missy
The Peace and Happiness Project 
For me it’s pretty simple to figure out if I’m in balance or out of balance. Am I living closer to my heart center or on the edge? Have I spread myself too thin (which causes my world to tilt) or am I making decisions and choices that keep me centered. For example, I’m staying home from the dojo tonight because I need time with my husband. He’s been flat out with his 15 days of straight Army duty and I feel like I haven’t seen him in forever.
That’s a great way to keep things in balance. You know that the Dojo will be there tomorrow. We are staying home from the Dojo as well AGAIN tonight. For both of us, our health and family time are both out of balance. When we get the balance back it is easier to give it our all in the other areas.
Hug Rick for us and perhaps we will see you tomorrow night for a kickboxing class! Love you.
Thanks as always for stopping by. I appreciate it.
Miss
It is indeed a balance, especially when you are a caregiver to elderly family members. I am not quite at that point yet (may be coming sooner than I would like) but I know several people who are in the middle of that-trying to balance caregiving, work obligations,other family, and their sanity-especially if the member in question has dementia.
That can be very stressful. It’s important, as I mentioned to stay focused on solutions. Perhaps people can band together to help in the areas that are being neglected. One person should not have that responsibility alone. I know that’s not always possible to have the help but hopefully people feel comfortable enough to ask before its too late.
Missy
Good things to think about in keeping balance in your life, thank you.
Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate it.
Missy.
Thanks for writing this…I take this as a personal message. I know things can easily get off track when there are big projects taking up my time. I’ll be more aware of the signs.
I love to hear when what I wrote is helping people. I usually write from where I am or what I’m learning in a given moment. This one was because I was feeling out of balance too.
Thank you for stopping by. As always, I appreciate it.
Best wishes!
Missy
My whole life is out of balance. I’ve been focusing on the business aspect of my life in order to support the family, and mainly because I have to (I’m the only source of income at the moment) but it’s affecting all the other aspects of my life, although I didn’t realize it until I read this. Thank you!
Focus on just the solution not the problem. When you put a little more balance back in your life you will be able to focus on the work better and get it done in less time.
Thank you for stopping by,
Missy
The balance that you spoke of in this post is such an awesome thing that once you experience it you wont want to go back to doing what you did before. I love it!
Raphael “Doctah” Love
Raphael,
I appreciate you stopping by, I’m glad you liked this post. By the sounds of it, you have balance in your life. It’s an amazing feeling. Enjoy.
Thank you for your comment,
Missy
This is so true! I think this was a sign for me. I am better at business than I am at my family life right now. It is something I need to work on definitely!
I knew I was supposed to come to your blog for a reason 🙂
Thank you Shay! I’m glad you did stop by and that it helped you. Like I said to Melissa, focus on the solution, not the problem. Once you have more balance you may find that the work is done quicker and with better focus. It’s the universes way of rewarding you for being in balance.
Thanks again and please, stop by often. Feel free to share with others.
Missy