Start With Balance

 

 Choose Your Own Way to Balance Life

Our hearts and minds are fragile, inner parts that need care. We have felt enough debilitating heartache to become experts at recognizing when we need to take a deep breath, seek out a friend, and just sit down and talk. Balance in our daily lives is the key to creating the best possible existence.

Without a doubt, we need that kind of stability to counter the long years of precarious living. Good nutrition, exercise, fresh air, participating in meaningful activities, and just plain having fun will keep us going strong. We owe ourselves that much and more.

Nowhere does it suggest we have to go, go, go as if we are on a never-ending treadmill. It’s not only okay to slow life down and take a break, it’s strongly recommended for our sanity. Let’s just understand, it takes some time to adjust and find ways to successfully live on our own.

Establishing a daily routine will help us figure out what to do and when to do it. Remember though, any routine is flexible and can be adjusted as often as necessary. One reason why we can not get out of bed at times is because there is no reason to put our feet on the floor. It’s just easier to stay under the covers since we have nothing to do, no one else to care for, no purpose, and no short or long-term goals.

True, making breakfast for one is not necessarily exciting. But it does not have to be that way. Vary food choices for each day if that sounds like fun. Once a month or more, try eating out with a friend and sharing coffee, crepes, and conversation. Whatever it takes so we can look forward to the day will be worth the effort. After a while, it will become second nature.

There are many ways to get our adrenaline going each day. Start with a basic routine and build excitement into it little by little. Don’t just sit around and let everyone else have all the fun!

Basic “Take Care” Instructions 

• Every morning, drink eight ounces of room temperature water to get organs moving (with lemon if wanted). Set it out the night before because ice-cold water causes the body to work harder to warm up to internal body temperature.
• Try a new soap and enjoy three extra minutes in the shower to wake up while the coffee/tea is brewing.
• Simple breakfast: protein bar or cheese plus a favorite fruit. Protein-enriched cereal with almond milk is also perfect (minus the sugar). It’s the most important meal of the day to avoid “crashing” mid-morning.
• Check a calendar, digital day planner, or whatever device encourages us to keep a schedule of daily activities. This is imperative, even if retired or unemployed at the moment.

Build in the Fun

• Sign up for Zumba, hiking, biking, or join a swim class to train the body to move.
• Plan a lunch or movie date with a friend once a month.
• Add restful activities like cooking, baking, an art class, or a book club.
• Balance life by volunteering at a non-profit organization to help someone in need.

There are so many fun activities to choose and many are free! Once we learn how to create a new and different life, we won’t have time to spend an extra minute in bed.

Tip of the Day

There is no reason to fear anything we want to do. We have a heavenly Father who will show us the best possible life and keep us safe in the process. What a blessing!

God enjoys seeing us use the gifts He has freely given us like clean and fresh air, colorful rainbows, good friends, fun activities, loved ones, and a life filled with enjoyment and happiness. He also gave us the most important gift of spending eternity with Him, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He has our backs!

“But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever” (Psalm 73:2, 23, 26 NLT).