Ways To Create Balance By Living Simple

• Forget multi-tasking, single-task instead – By putting your full focus and energy on one specific task at a time, your best work is achieved. Put quality before quantity. Always strive for excellence in all that you do. Do few things, but do them well.
• Spend more time with friends and family – Never forget your loved ones. They are the ones that will catch you when you are about to fall. They are the ones who will guide you when you are lost. They are the ones that will support you when you are feeling weak. Cherish them and provide the same support for them. Always let the people who are important in your life know how much they mean to you. It can never be said too much.
• Eat healthy – In the words of Count Rugen from The Princess Bride: “If you haven’t got your health, then you haven’t got anything.” Implementing a simple, healthy diet into your life will not only make you feel better and more balanced, but it will also be cheaper. Eating fast food or prepackaged food not only costs more, but has less nutritional value. Don’t forget to enjoy and savor what you eat.
• Exercise regularly – The quote above can be applied to this one as well. Exercise is needed to balance out the time that you are inactive. Combine this with a healthy diet and your body will be balanced physically.
• Spend less than what you make – This simple principle is easy to understand, but can be difficult to live by. If you are in mounds of debt, that is obviously going to disrupt the balance in your life. By spending less than what you make, you can slowly get out of debt and stay out of debt.
• Integrate your passions with your career – Having a job that you are passionate is so important in achieving balance. A good chunk of everyone’s life will be spent at work. If there is no meaning or passion behind your job, it will have a negative affect on you. Following your passion in your career might not yield you as much money, but it will bring you much more happiness and balance. The benefit of living a simple life is that you don’t need that much money to sustain yourself anyway, so money should not be a problem.
• Rid yourself of material possessions – Having too much stuff can make you feel trapped or weighed down. Give away or sell the things that you never use anymore. When you go shopping, ask yourself: “Do I really need this?”
• Write in a journal or blog – If you are anything like me, then you have ideas and thoughts swirling throughout your brain all day. I forget things and lose track of things so easily. Writing your thoughts and ideas down helps you remember them and make sense out of them. It helps you see the big picture in your life. It can provide insight as to what areas of your life need work and what areas are going smoothly.
• Learn from others – Observe your friends and family. Which ones are successful, happy, and seem to live a quality life? What is differentiates their lives from yours? What habits do they have? Don’t be afraid to talk to them and ask them questions about how they live their life. Finding balance should never have to be a lonely task.

How to Keep One's Balance When Life is Unstable

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  1. • 1
       Keep your cool in every volatile family situation. Those who keep balance in their life are those who refuse to become derailed by the unexpected, and better yet, the expected. You have grown up with those people in your family, and you know what to expect from them. Instead of letting it make you angry every time, write down what you expect in every gathering, and chalk it up to wisdom when it actually happens.
     • 2
       Make your relationships strong, and do whatever you need to do in order to make them your top priority. When your job is frustrating, or you can't seem to keep a job, the only way to make it through is with a good support group. They can help you keep trying even when you feel like it is all in vain.
     • 3
       List the things that are important to you, and keep those things in the forefront of your mind when you lose a loved one or have a tough break up. Your goals should not change, and you should not stop trying to improve who you are and working toward your goals. Losing someone to a break up or death is hard, but it is not a reason to give up on yourself.
     • 4
       Do only the things that add flavor and interest to your life. If your job bores you, find a job that fills you with joy and passion. Volunteer with your spare time instead of zoning out in front of the computer, and keep balance in life by feeding your soul.
     • 5
       Set plans for emergencies. Get your friends, neighbors and family together and lay out a plan that helps all of you in an emergency. Exchange emergency phone numbers and set up contingency plans for late meetings, storms, accidents and traumatic events

12 Rules to Find Balance in Your Life

1. Have a Mantra

   A mantra is the main focus of meditation, a word or a phrase that you use to center your mind, bring calmness to the body, and assist with concentration. Use whatever word or phrase that bring you to meditation, and use it throughout the day to gain more control and feel calmer.

2. Maintain Rituals

   A routine is something you do habitually, like drinking a cup of coffee in the morning or sit quietly in your favorite chair or writing in your journal. Ritual or routine keeps your emotions in check, and convey the balance on a regular basic.

3. Do One Thing at a Time

   We become experts with multi-tasking these days. Try to do just one thing at a time. Carefully pay attention to what you are doing, and where you are at the moment. When you feel panic, ask yourself what one task has to be done first.

4. Just Say Thank You

   Keep a gratitude journal will give you a better self-esteem, more energy, and felt more alert. Write down three things that you are grateful for every day, and make it a habit to say thank you to someone you admire, love, or has done you a favor.

5. Practice Acceptance

   Acceptance means peace, and also means you are willing to face it without reacting or blaming, or getting angry. When you feel annoyed or irritated, try to connect with yourself, and then the other person. Practice acceptance to feel calmer, and use positive thinking to replace aggitation.

6. Do Something for Others

   Kindness acts give us a deep feeling of purpose. When you do something nice for other, you have a sense of connecting to that person, and it does wonder for the mind.

7. Do Something for Yourself

   You will not be able to take care of anyone or anything else in your life if you’re burned out or run down. Have at least 15 minutes every day to do something pleasurable just for yourself.

8. Learn to Say No

   It is challenging to say no on the spot. If you have a hard time saying no, then just tell them the famous phrase that we’ve heard all the time: “Let me get back to you.”

9. Tune into Nature

   Spend time listening to the sounds of nature, bird singing, leaves rushing, rain drops, ocean waves, wind blowing to alter out the noises of modern life.

10. Visualize beauty

    Let your mind goes, and visualize a beautiful picture you have seen, or been at. Concentrate on the beauty of the world to center your thoughts, and feelings.

11. Clean up your Surroundings

    Simplify your desk, kitchen counters, or any other spot in the house that collect clutters. You will have more time to do what you love, less stress if you are not overwhelmed with your environment.

12. Learn Something New

    There is so much to learn every day. Find something that is not familiar to you and learn about it. You never know what you might discover.

5 Tips For A Happier Work Day

Monday-
Focus on “Get to” instead of “Have to” – While driving to work focus on what you “get to” do instead of what you “have to” do. With gratitude realize that you don’t have to do anything. You get to go to a job while so many are unemployed. Gratitude floods your body and brain with emotions that uplift you and energize you rather than stress hormones that drain you.
Plus, remember you are blessed to be able to have the opportunity serve and be a blessing to all those you come into contact with during your day. God loves it when we live an others centered life, he views our commitment to demonstrate his love to others as an act of worship.
Tuesday-
Don’t Expect your Boss, Co-workers and Customers to Make you Happy – Realize that happiness is an inside job. Our happiness has less to do with forces outside of us and more to do with what’s inside of us. The way we think about work, feel about work and approach our work influences our happiness at work. For instance, just by making yourself smile you produce more serotonin in the brain-which makes you feel happier. You’ll also be happier when you focus on what you are giving instead of what you are getting.
Only Jesus truly satisfies; let him come alive in your heart and show you how living for his glory will bring true joy into your life. Live by the spirit, and produce fruit!
Wednesday-
Don’t Seek Happiness – Ironically if you want to be happier don’t seek happiness. Instead share your strengths and decide to work with passion and purpose and happiness will find you. The research shows that people are most energized when they are using their strengths for a bigger purpose beyond themselves. Whatever your job, decide to bring passion to it and find purpose in it. I’ve met bus drivers, mortgage brokers, janitors and fast-food employees who are more passionate about their jobs and happier than some professional athletes making millions of dollars. Every job will get mundane and “old” if you let it but purpose and passion keep it fresh and make you happier.
If we are willing God can use us no matter where or what we are doing.  God is a master gardener, and if we allow him, he will equip and enable us to bloom where we are planted!
Thursday-
Focus on Excellence instead of Success – When you focus on success you can easily fall into the trap of comparing yourself to others, looking over your shoulder, feeling envious, playing office politics, and competing against coworkers instead of collaborating. However, when you focus on excellence you measure yourself against your own growth and potential. You strive to be the best you can be. You simply focus on getting better every day and this makes work more meaningful and rewarding.
God is the ultimate designer, creator, engineer, and manufacture, resource manager, and relationship builder.  He is a God of excellence; just take a look around at his creation. Follow his example by using your unique gifting to all you do well…let god take care of the rest!
Friday-
Celebrate Together – While we shouldn’t depend on others to make us happy, by building a positive team or support group at work we will be happier. So instead of expecting others to make you happy, you proactively create the positive relationships that enhance your engagement, productivity and happiness. One great way to do this to huddle with your team/group at the end of the week and have each person share their accomplishments, victories, and great moments of the week. This will produce great feelings on Friday that inspire you and your team to come back to work and make a difference on Monday.
God is a God of relationship; he wants to know each of us intimately, and he wants all of his children to enjoy fellowship with one another, sharing our lives, praying for one another, encouraging one another, exhorting one another, and lifting our hearts up in praise!
What makes you happier at work? Share your thoughts…and have a happy week at home and at work.

How to Live a Balanced Life

The following life balance strategies provide a roadmap; a handbook of sorts, to begin the process of living a balanced life each day.

Create a Vision

Before you start, you ought to know where you want to go. The lack of not having a plan is what keeps some folks from creating the life they want because they have no idea what they want in the first place.

A life vision is not an etched in stone deal that can never be changed; but rather, it is a high-level vision statement that goes something like, “this is what I want from my life.”

For me, I want to meet, or exceed, the financial and emotional needs of my family. I want to be in control of my future and give myself the ability to have choices with my career. I may not achieve all of these things every single day, but this vision is what gives me focus and a very good idea of what a balanced life looks, and feels like, when I’m struggling and veering off course.

Identify Your Goals

Your life’s vision is what provides governance to how you want to live; your goals are the tactical components of your vision. Your goals help make your vision a reality. For the most part, goals are measureable and quantifiable.

Goals can vary in size and scope. One goal might be to retire at age 50 in order to begin living your life’s passion and another might be to find one evening during the week when you and your partner can go out and spend some time alone.

Often, our lives feel out of balanced when we have not clearly defined our goals or we are not actively pursuing them. Take time each week; each day, to consider what you want to accomplish. Make a plan to align your activities to your life’s vision.

Prioritize

Do what’s important first. The distractions of email, text messages, and mind-numbing television can keep us from focusing on what is truly important.

In order to spend time on activities that support you life’s vision and will keep you daily life in better balance, consider these productivity tips:

• Have at least one hour of email amnesty each day at work, or try to shut-off your email one day each week.
• Get up at least 15 minutes earlier each day to give yourself a better head-start and use this time to make your plan for the day.
• Make a list – mental is fine, but written is better, of the things you need to accomplish and the things you want to accomplish for the day.
• Be on the outlook for time-killers such as planting yourself in front of the television or thinking of who to call next on the telephone instead of addressing the items on your to-do list.
• Know what you value most in life and then spend more time there.

12 Techniques to Help You Live a Happy and Fulfilled Life

1. Keep life simple. Far too many of us are always over analyzing and looking for the most complicated way of doing things in life. Sometimes life was meant to be simple – a walk through the park, a simple yes or no answer, or a quiet evening with the family. Don’t try and clutter your life with unnecessary decisions by making everything complicated and complex. Keep it simple!
2. Practice being satisfied. How many times have you heard someone say, “If only I had a few more dollars I’d…” or “If I just had another day off I could….”? Many people don’t know how to be satisfied with what life gives them. They are so busy wanting more that they squander what life has already given them.
3. Beware of indecision. Nobody said life is easy, and sometimes you have to make the tough choices. Never put off a decision that you can make today. You may miss some of the best and most exciting opportunities in the world because you were indecisive. Successful people didn’t get where they were at by prolonging or going back and forth on decisions!
4. Practice cheerfulness. You’ve heard it before, and you’ll hear it here again – it only takes a few muscles to smile! You would be surprised at how well being cheerful to others can spread like wildfire. We live in a society where it seems that glumness is the rule of order. A simple smile or kind word can spread through our culture like wildfire – not only will you feel better, but those who interact with you will feel better!
5. Learn to like people. You don’t have to love everyone you encounter, so learn to like people – especially those who are different than yourself. Often you won’t agree with everything they do, or maybe all of their beliefs, but by learning to get along with them you will open your mind up to change – a critical trait that is absolutely necessary in today’s world.
6. Live and let live. Is it really your concern what the guy across the street wants to do with his life or who he wants to share his life with? Learn to live your life to the fullest and let others live their life to the fullest. None of us is above anyone else, and none of us should think we should be allowed to dictate how another person should live their life.
7. Adversity teaches. Adversity can be one of the most powerful teachers we will ever have in our lives. You will learn so much about life by overcoming adversity and learning how to face it head on. Adversity often comes dressed in many different outfits, but you will change your life by learning how to deal with it and prosper from it.
8. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Here is a secret: it’s ok to be a little goofy now and then! You only get one shot at this life, so make the most of it. Have some fun and show your children and those around you that you know how to have fun. You aren’t the greatest gift to mankind this world has ever had – so don’t act like it! You may find you add years to your life, not to mention a ton of laughter!
9. Have a sense of humor. Laugh, joke, and now and then pick up a cream pie and throw it! Laughter has been shown to help people live longer, reduce their blood pressure, and help them relate to people from around the world.
10. Practice objectivity. Be objective in your decision-making and risk-taking. Know the facts and avoid letting racial, social, or any other type of bias influence your decisions. Great leaders perform their best when they act based on facts, not on emotion or prejudices. Become a great leader in your life.
11. Tolerate your own mistakes. You will make mistakes – in fact, you will make so many mistakes you will never be able to list them all. Learn that mistakes happen and the best thing you can do is to learn from them. Don’t spend your entire life dwelling on a mistake you made years ago – learn from it and move on. The world isn’t going to wait while you live in the past.
12. Forgive yourself. Stop beating yourself up over things that happened in the past - things you did or didn’t do, and mistakes you may have made with others.
    
    Forgiving yourself is a skill so few of us have the ability to accomplish. It's such a shame that we spent a lifetime living in the past and never make it to our full potential in the future. Forgive yourself – and just as importantly, forgive others.

9 Ways To Live A Happy Life

1).    Follow your passion :

Do what you love. Don’t go where money is, go where your heart is. There will be many occasions in life where you’ll need to decide what you truly want to do. Follow that gut feeling, it’ll never disappoint you. If you want to do really well in something, passion is very, very important.

2).    Spread smiles everyday :

If someone you know is going through a bad patch, try your best to make them smile. Smiling makes things easier and lightens your spirit. After all, a day without a smile is a day wasted, isn’t it?

3).    Positive attitude :

Positivity goes a long way in life. Why waste precious seconds of your life worrying too much? Remove all those negative thoughts from your mind. Don’t think that you’re any less than the others. Keep your chin up, fight the bad feelings, stay strong and be positive!

4).    Good deeds :

In today’s world, we give a lot of importance to material things. We buy expensive gadgets, luxurious items etc. We shouldn’t forget about the less fortunate. Remember, charity begins at home, but it shouldn’t end there. Do your part, make a change. Every little bit makes a difference. Give!

5).    Cherish relationships :

Life is short. Spend a lot of time with your loved ones. Don’t get too involved in work, that you start giving less time to your family. Family comes first. Cherish every moment with your loved ones.

6).    Stay healthy :

Meditate. Eat good food. A healthy body equals a healthy soul and healthy thoughts. A calm body, mind and soul can help you lead a happy life.

7).    Stay in contact with people who lift you higher :

Don’t constantly be around people who only talk negativity. They will only bring you down. Try to stay around positive people who exude good thoughts. Being around positive people will bring a vibrancy in your life!

8).    Express :

Humans have this intense desire to love and feel loved. Express all your feelings. Don’t keep it inside you for too long. Be who you are. Live out loud!

9).    Don’t compare :

Comparing only brings sadness. “Why don’t I look like her?” “Why am I not rich like him?” etc does absolutely nothing good to us. Learn to accept yourself as you are. Work hard to be what you want to be. Be happy in your own skin. Know that God has made you the way you are for a reason, and there are people who find you extremely special.