How to Find Balance in Life: 9 Game-Changing Tips
Jul 11, 2024
By Will Moore
"You don't find balance. You create balance." - Bert Jacobs, Co-founder of Life is Good.
Imagine achieving extraordinary success in your career, only to realize that true fulfillment comes from a much broader spectrum of life experiences. This was my reality, and it taught me an invaluable lesson about balance.
As a young entrepreneur who eventually sold a company for $321 million, I once thought that career success was the key to happiness. But my journey taught me a crucial lesson: true balance and fulfillment come from nurturing all aspects of life, not just your career.
The struggle for balance is a common one. According to a recent survey, 70% of people feel overwhelmed by their daily responsibilities, juggling work, family, and personal time. This constant hustle leaves little room for the tranquility and stability we all crave.
But what if there was a way to make balance not just a dream but a tangible reality?
The answer, I discovered, lies in understanding and nurturing what I call the 5 Cores of Life: Mindset, Career and Finances, Relationships, Physical Health, and Emotional Health.
By focusing on these areas, you can create a harmonious existence where every aspect of your personal life thrives – and, surprisingly, this balance can even lead to greater professional success.
Upgrades You'll Earn from This Blog:
Understanding the 5 essential areas of life that contribute to balance.
Practical, actionable tips on How to find balance in life.
A new perspective on how to maintain continuous growth and fulfillment in both professional and personal life spheres.
What Does It Mean to Have Balance in Your Life?
Achieving balance in life means creating a state where all the important aspects of your life are aligned and thriving. It’s about managing your time, energy, and resources effectively to ensure you are growing and maintaining harmony across different areas of your life. This holistic approach helps you stay grounded, fulfilled, and continuously progressing.
The 5 Pillars of a Balanced Life:
Mindset:
This is about developing a growth-oriented mindset that views challenges as opportunities. When your mindset is in balance, you are better equipped to handle stress and adapt to changes.
James Clear, author of "Atomic Habits," explains that small changes can result in significant impacts over time, thanks to the power of compound growth. For example, improving just 1% every day can make you 37 times better over a year.
In essence, your mindset dictates your habits, and your habits dictate your life. Whether it's a success habit like setting aside time for physical exercise or a failure habit like succumbing to stress, your mindset is the first pillar to maintain balance in your life.
Career and Finances:
Finding balance here means earning a living by doing what you love and are good at while ensuring financial stability. It's not just about earning a paycheck; it's about making that paycheck work for you while keeping your sanity intact.
When your career is fulfilling, and your finances are stable, it's easier to invest in relationships, focus on health, and even explore personal growth opportunities. On the flip side, a draining job or financial instability can cast a shadow over your entire life, making it difficult to find joy or balance in other areas.
Relationships:
Ever felt like you're on a merry-go-round, chasing after career goals, financial stability, and personal achievements, only to find something missing? That something is often the warmth of genuine relationships or deep connections. Strong, meaningful relationships provide emotional support and enrich your life. It involves nurturing your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues. When you have good people around you, you feel connected, supported, and valued.
Physical Health:
"Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live." - Jim Rohn.
Your physical health is foundational to everything else. This core focuses on maintaining a healthy body through regular exercise, a balanced diet, and adequate rest. A balanced physical health pillar gives you the energy and vitality needed to engage fully in all areas of life. By treating our physical health as a crucial investment, we ensure that we have the strength, energy, and resilience to pursue our goals and enjoy life to its fullest.
Emotional & Mental Health:
Managing stress, expressing your emotions healthily, and finding time for activities that bring you joy are key to this core. It’s about ensuring your mental well-being is as prioritized as your physical health. When your emotional and mental health is good, you experience greater inner peace and resilience.
As per the World Health Organization WHO, one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. It's like we're all walking an invisible tightrope every day. On one side, there's the constant ping of notifications, the endless to-do lists, and the pressure to be "always on." On the other, there's that inner voice that never seems to be satisfied, always pushing for more. By recognizing these challenges and prioritizing our mental well-being, we can start to build the resilience we need to not just survive but thrive in today's world.
When these 5 pillars of a balanced life are in harmony, you live a healthy and fulfilling life. Whenever you feel out of balance, it often means you are neglecting one or more of these core areas. By regularly assessing and nurturing these pillars, you can maintain a holistic balance that helps you level up in life.
To find out how well you are performing in each of these core areas and identify which area needs more attention, take this two-minute Core Values Quiz.
9 Practical Tips to Find Balance in Life:
The 9 practical tips we are going to explore are designed to help you nurture and balance the 5 Cores of Life.
1. Practice Daily Gratitude:
"Gratitude turns what we have into enough." - Anonymous
Reflecting on positive aspects of your life helps to start or end your day on a high note, boosting your mental health and emotional well-being. Research shows that practicing gratitude can significantly improve mental health, increase happiness, and reduce depression. When you practice gratitude, it has a positive impact on brain neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. These changes can lead to immediate feelings of pleasure and well-being.
Tips to Practice Gratitude
Start each day by writing down three things you're grateful for. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that participants who kept gratitude journals reported feeling more optimistic and better about their lives compared to those who didn't.
Reflect on positive aspects of your life daily.
Share your gratitude with others to spread positivity.
Look for silver linings in challenging situations.
2. Prioritize Tasks For Better Work-life Balance:
“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” - Stephen Covey.
Not everything that shouts is important. Learn to prioritize your tasks based on urgency and importance.
Actionable tips:
Use techniques like the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize your tasks by urgency and importance. This helps you focus on what truly matters and reduces stress by tackling tasks methodically.
Divide your tasks into four categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important. Focus on completing tasks in the first two categories to ensure you're addressing the most critical aspects of your life.
Regularly reassess your priorities to stay on track and maintain a healthy work-life balance.
3. Set Clear Boundaries:
When you say "yes" to everything, you're essentially saying "no" to balance. Overcommitment can lead to stress, burnout, and a decline in the quality of your work and relationships. It's like trying to juggle too many balls at once—eventually, something has to give, and it's usually your well-being and peace of mind that suffer the most.
Tips to help you set the boundaries.
Define your work hours and personal time, and stick to these boundaries to ensure you have time to relax and engage in activities you enjoy. For example, avoid checking work emails after a certain hour in the evening and designate weekends for personal activities only.
Use tools like calendar blocks to schedule work and personal activities clearly, making it easier to maintain these boundaries. This helps prevent poor work-life balance.
4. Schedule Regular Quality Time:
Dedicate time each week to spend with loved ones without distractions. Whether it's a family dinner, a date night, or a phone call with a friend, these moments strengthen your relationships and provide emotional support.
Tips for spending quality time
Plan at least one quality time activity each week, e.g., weekly family game day, or monthly "adventure day" with a partner.
Focus on being present during these moments e.g., practice active listening, put away phones, and other distractions.
Keep activities simple but meaningful, e.g., evening walks with spouse and weekly "Story Time" with children.
Involve everyone in planning and decision-making, e.g., creating a "Family Fun Jar" for activity ideas.
5. Incorporate Exercise into Your Routine:
In fact, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that only 23% of Americans get the recommended amount of exercise. This lack of physical activity not only compromises health but also reflects how work demands can overshadow essential self-care. Your body is the vehicle that carries you through this journey called life, and it deserves premium care.
Read More: Why is it Important to Set Health Related Goals
Tips to incorporate exercise:
Find a physical activity you enjoy and make it a regular part of your schedule. Whether it’s a daily walk, yoga session, or gym workout, regular exercise boosts your physical health and energy levels.
Set realistic fitness goals and gradually increase the intensity of your workouts.
You can also integrate physical activity into your daily routine, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator or biking to work.
Consistency is key, so find an exercise routine that fits your lifestyle and stick with it to maintain a well-balanced life.
6. Practice Mindfulness:
Engage in mindfulness practices like meditation or deep breathing exercises. These practices can reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance your emotional well-being.
To practice mindfulness:
Set aside a few minutes each day for mindfulness, starting with just five minutes and gradually increasing the time.
Use mindfulness apps or guided meditations to help you stay on track.
Practicing mindfulness can be as simple as taking a few deep breaths before a stressful meeting or dedicating time to a daily meditation practice. This supports your mental health and helps in finding balance.
7. Set Achievable Goals:
Sometimes, in our eagerness to achieve more, we set the bar so high that we end up feeling overwhelmed and burned out. This can lead to burnout, frustration, and a sense of failure when we inevitably fall short. The key to sustainable progress lies in setting achievable goals that challenge us without overwhelming us. By breaking down our aspirations into smaller, manageable steps, we can maintain motivation and steadily work towards our objectives.
Read More: Which of the Seven Goal-setting Steps is the Most Important?
Tips for setting achievable goals:
Break down your goals into smaller, manageable steps to avoid feeling overwhelmed (e.g., divide a year-long project into monthly milestones)
Use a planner or goal-setting app to track progress (e.g., apps like Trello or Asana for project management)
Celebrate small wins along the way (e.g., treat yourself to a favorite activity after completing a milestone)
Set daily or weekly targets (e.g., daily 10 min exercise for weight loss, weekly savings target for a financial goal)
Regularly review and adjust your goals (e.g., monthly check-ins to assess progress and make necessary changes)
Use the SMART criteria: make goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (e.g., "Increase sales by 10% in Q3" instead of "Boost sales")
8. Communicate Openly:
Good communication ensures you are understood and can understand others better, leading to healthier and more fulfilling relationships. This is essential for maintaining balance in your personal life and work life.
Tips to communicate better:
Make it a habit to check in with your loved ones and colleagues regularly.
Express your thoughts and feelings openly.
Use active listening skills to understand others’ perspectives and foster a supportive environment.
9. Maintain a Balanced Diet:
Focus on eating a variety of nutritious foods to fuel your body. A balanced diet supports your physical health and provides the energy you need to tackle your daily activities effectively.
Tips for creating balanced health:
Plan your meals ahead of time to ensure you include a mix of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
Avoid processed foods and sugary snacks, opting instead for fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins.
Staying hydrated is also essential, so make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Read More: 7 Healthy Eating Habits
Summing up: How to find balance in life?
Achieving a balanced life is an ongoing journey, not a destination. The practical tips shared in this blog aren't just theoretical concepts - they're battle-tested strategies that have made a real difference in my life and the lives of many others I've worked with.
My path from struggling young adult to successful entrepreneur taught me that true fulfillment comes from nurturing all aspects of our own life, not just career success.
The 5 Pillars of Life are interconnected. When we neglect one, it affects our work-life balance and overall well-being. However, by attending to each pillar, we create a strong support system for ourselves, enhancing our personal and professional lives.
Ready to Level Up Your Life? Take the Next Step Now!
You've learned about how to find balance in life and relationships and build emotional resilience. But knowledge is just the first step. The real transformation happens when you take action.
Take the first step today. Assess where you stand in each of the 5 Core Areas of Life by taking this two min Core Value Quiz. Find out where you stand in the 5 Core Areas of happiness. Discover your strengths and weaknesses, and use our unique system to gamify your habits.
Don't wait for "someday" to start living a balanced life. "Someday" is not a day of the week.
Take the Core Life Evaluation Quiz Now!
FAQs
What is the meaning of balance in life?
Balance in life means allocating appropriate time and energy to various aspects of your life, including work, relationships, health, and personal growth, without neglecting any crucial area.
What are examples of balance in everyday life?
Maintaining a healthy work-life balance
Dedicating time for both family and personal hobbies
Balancing physical exercise with mental relaxation
Alternating between socializing and solitude
Managing time between career growth and personal development
How to find balance and harmony in life?
Identify your priorities
Set clear boundaries
Practice time management
Learn to say no to non-essential commitments
Regularly assess and adjust your lifestyle
Incorporate mindfulness and self-reflection
How to live a balanced life?
Create a structured daily routine.
Set realistic goals for different life areas
Regularly evaluate and adjust your commitments
Make time for self-care and relaxation
Delegate tasks when possible
Seek support from family, friends, or professionals when needed