Living a Balanced Life

by Samantha Allan

How are you?

Do you automatically respond in the affirmative? But how are you really?

We all like to think we have “got it all together” but often we just don’t want to face up to the fact that our life may need some adjustments. We all have times when we sense things are not balanced in our life. Maybe consciously, maybe subconsciously. We may make an educated adjustment to compensate and sometimes our body does it for us by getting sick or becoming exhausted or grumpy. We all know in theory how important it is to pace ourselves and to be intentional about how to spend our time, but does it show?

Below is a checklist of sorts, it is by no means exhaustive but may be helpful next time you need to recalibrate your priorities. These are some of things I have learned to be important over the years of trying to get the balance right. Not that I have already attained all this myself in practice, but I am working on it!

Love The Lord with all your heart mind and soul and strength. Praise Him daily.

Imitate Christ by serving others.

Verses: Read your bible daily. Study it. Understand it. Apply it.

Imagine for the future. Dream some dreams. Set some goals. Make some plans.

Nutrition for your body. Healthy food and quality supplements.

Gratitude. Write a list each day of things you are thankful for, even the small things.

Allow time to just sit for a few minutes of reflection with your thoughts or with God.

Build up, encourage and affirm others. This habit takes some practice but it is worth it.

Arrange your time, set your priorities and plan your day.

Let yourself rest. Get the right amount of sleep for you. Avoid screen time before sleep.

Awareness of your mental health. Do you have emotional issues you need to deal with?

Nourish your mind. Read about a topic of interest. Learn something new. Do puzzles.

Collect your thoughts by journaling regularly. Reflect often on how things are going.

Exercise regularly. It really does get easier and more enjoyable after a while!

Drink plenty of water. We would all feel better if we drank approx 2L of water a day.

Love your family. Say it and show it. Talk with them. Do stuff with them.

Inspire yourself by doing something you love to do.

Forgive others and yourself. Bitterness can affect your health. Keep things in perspective.

Enjoy what you have and don’t focus on what you don’t have.

I realise a whole article could be written about each point but hopefully they can serve as prompts for re-evaluation and action. All the best as you navigate this balance beam we call life.

Samantha Allan attends Stawell Baptist Church.