Creating Your Ideal Life Balance

Life balance is something many of us strive for on a daily basis. How can I get more out of my day? How can I make the most of this life? How can I be of service to my family, those I care most for and people I do not even know? How can I feel happy, peaceful and fulfilled?

What does it mean to have a balanced life?
To me, life is in balance when I can be fully present in what I am currently working on. I know that all other aspects of my life will get taken care of when the time is right.

"You will find a balance in the mountains that exists in no other place."

So, why the imbalance?
The fact is life gets busy, often times overwhelming and everything feels out of alignment. We stop living according to what we most value, taking time to help others and enjoying each moment. We begin racing through each day and the speed seems to cascade out of control until some life event pulls the emergency brake. It does not have to be this way.

I have recognized imbalance happen in many lives including my own.

“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul, wisdom is better than silver or gold.” - Bob Marley

We need to stop overworking our mind and bodies spending time doing things we do not really value.

We need to start aligning our lives and values with each other and start living in accordance to them. By establishing healthy habits we can flow through a day of complete peace, balance and happiness.

Are you in tune with your values?
Take some time to either write down or review your values now. Check in with yourself and see if you are in alignment at this time. What needs to change?

If you are unclear with what your values are then I highly suggest working through the “What Are Your Values?” article by MindTools. Too many of us live a different life than what we would if we were fully tuned into our values.

I recently had to take a big step back from the way I was coasting through life to really realize where I was heading. My mind, body and spirit were broken, relationships were failing and all other aspects of life that I value were not matching up to where I thought they should. I was simply not reaching my full potential nor living in balance. Here are my top 5 value buckets and some recent changes I made to live in better alignment with them. I am still yet to get everything together, but by taking action everyday I am happily living in balance.

1. Relationships - Identified what was causing issues, areas for improvement and started taking action. 
2. Scout Law - Identified areas of my life that did not align with each of the 12 points of the Scout Law.
3. Physical, Mental and Spiritual Strength - Stopped substance abuse, started running marathons again and came to believe in a power greater than myself that helps guide me through each day.
4. Community Goodwill - Volunteer for SCORE in Central Oregon and help others whenever and wherever possible.
5. Nature: Mountains, Rivers, Animals etc. - Lived in the woods for several months this past summer to strengthen my connection with the outdoors and started enjoying more sunrises like the one I experienced today. 

Tips For Living a Balanced Life
Everyone of us will have values and an idea of life balance that is slightly different and I fully respect that. These 10 things I work on each day to keep my life balanced.

1. Values: Is your life in tune with what you truly value? What does not match up?
   
2. Be Grateful: No matter our circumstances we should always have something to be grateful for. Sometimes this might be as simple as eating dinner at night or having the ability to be of service.
   
3. Goals: Do you have something that you are consciously working towards? Where do you want to be and what do you want to achieve in one week, one month, one year, five years?
   
4. Plan: We never know what the next moment will bring. We can however create a road map of where we want to go and increase the likelihood of actually getting there. This is why I sit down and create a great Monday that flows through the rest of my week.
   
5. Nurture Relationships: Check in with those closest to you on a daily basis. This will strengthen both sides of the relationship and show that you really care. 
   
6. Prayer and/or meditation: Sit in silence, pray to your god, tune out of you and into something of higher being.
   
7. Care for yourself: This often overlooked component is vital to balance and and well being. Carve out a chunk of time each day to care for you. If you are a parent with a full time job then perhaps this is your lunch hour. What have you not been caring for in your life? Do you need to use this time to exercise? Do you need to care for your finances? Do you need to work on your personal growth?
   
8. Let go of control: Accept that we cannot control everything in life. There are simply people, places and things that must run a different course than we may have imagined.
   
9. Play time, if you are not having fun each day then something is wrong. Adults need play time too. I often use this to go skiing, hiking, climbing and adventuring in the outdoors.
   
10. Reflection: At the end of each day ask yourself - Did I learn anything new? Did I help anyone? Did I reach my full potential.
    

Consistently checking in with yourself will help you be at your best every day. Remember investing in you is worth your time.

“A balanced life is peaceful, happy and abundant.”


Summit as friends!

Scott Rowley
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