Achieve Balance: A Top Ten
1. Reduce Stress: Keep stress to manageable proportions. We underestimate the power of stress to wreak havoc on our systems. For starters, stress can cause skin disorders; affect memory; cause weight loss or gain; decrease fertility; decrease brain functioning; and weaken the immune system, opening the body up to disease and sickness.
2. Meditate: Spend time alone with the universe, quieting your mind. There is much evidence that people who meditate for even 10 minutes a day are more productive, experience more peace and satisfaction with life and function on a level of positivity that is contagious.
3. Exercise: Don’t skip your exercise regime. Your body won’t forgive you! And if you don’t have one, it’s time to create one! Exercise relieves stress which helps you think more clearly. Exercise helps you maintain a healthy weight, which has ramifications for longevity, self-esteem and body image. Exercise combats fatigue and the sluggishness that can characterize the North American workday. Exercise promotes a healthy heart and lean muscle mass. Are you getting the picture?
4. Supplement: We are no longer able to get all the nutrients we require from our food. Our food is over-processed, picked before it’s ripe, and full of steroids and fillers. We are fooling ourselves if we think that just ‘eating well’ will be enough. Did you know that you would need to eat 20 pears today to reap the same nutritional benefits as one pear eaten 50 years ago! Consider adding supplements. But make sure you know exactly what’s in your vitamins and where they come from. We’ve had lots of scares of late!
5. Create: Find an outlet for your creativity. Some of us are lucky enough to do day-to-day jobs which inspire us and utilize our creative potential. Others are missing this outlet and need to foster their creativity outside of work. Take up a hobby that has always held some appeal. Don’t judge the validity or usefulness of that hobby or creative pursuit. Let your inner child speak to you and draw you toward play; it will spill over into other parts of your life and make life more fun, which ultimately leads to a more balanced existence.
6. Banish fear: Say ‘no’ to living in fear; say ‘no’ to living a life that is dominated by worry. Have you heard this verse from the Bible: “Who of you can add a single hour to their life through worrying?” Brooding over past hurts, agonizing over debt, and panicking about ‘what ifs’ all lead to anxiety and stress, setting us on a vicious unbalanced cycle. We move away from balance and harmony, and ultimately, joy. Currently I’m reading through a book called The Sedona Method. It offers strategies for releasing the emotions like fear that hold us back. I highly recommend it.
7. Live in the present: Don’t live in the future. Don’t live in the past. But embrace the realities of the present moment–a spiritual notion which encourages us to accept whatever stage we’re at. In this paradigm, we don’t yearn to be somewhere else in life, with different troubles and different relationships. We embrace what is before us. We embrace our individual journeys and find the joy in forging our own paths. No easy task, but the more you are able to call yourself back to the present, the more balanced you will be. It starts with self-acceptance, which doesn’t mean you don’t go after your dreams and make changes where you need to, but you make those changes gently, acknowledging and honoring your present circumstances at the same time. Frustration, negativity, and depression only hurt you. Your neighbor doesn’t care about your bitterness!
8. Eat well: Limit or eliminate sugar, refined and processed foods (including white flour and white rice–anything white!).
9. Get outside for some sun. Get inside for a nap: Sunlight powerfully transforms mood. So be sure to get outside for a quick walk every day. Further the benefits of vitamin D on our bodies and overall health are immeasurable. Vitamin D contributes to joint and bone health by helping the body absorb calcium and has been shown to prevent certain types of cancer. Napping, on the other hand, (which can be done indoors or out!) similarly restores and refreshes the mind and body. Studies have shown that a 40 to 90 minute nap each day significantly increases the effectiveness of a creative person.
10. Nurture relationships that give you energy: Spending time in community is critical to a sense of balance. In fact, too much time alone can lead to melancholy, depression and a sense of isolation. Community reminds us to laugh and enjoy humanity! Community helps us see our strengths, as well as what we need to draw from others. But we have to be careful. Sometimes we fall into relationships that are not nurturing and live giving, but life sucking. Be on guard against these relationships and give yourself permission to cut ties where needed.
Bonus. Have fun (which incidentally can cost you absolutely nothing): Don’t take yourself too seriously! Life is short. Walk in the park. Go to Museums on Free Fridays. Play Yahtzee with your favorite aunt. “Bowl, bowl, bowl!” (aka The Big Lebowski). Listen to music (I suggest Feist). Whatever makes you tick! A great spiritual writer Anthony De Mello says that inaction leads to fruitful action (my paraphrase).
Go forth and move toward achieving balance with a smile on your face!
