How do you know if you have balance in your life?

Merimbula, NSW, Australia

I have just gotten back from a wonderful holiday in Merimbula NSW, what a beautiful part of Australia. 
I am not sure about you but when I go on holiday it takes a few days to ‘get in the holiday mode’, if you know what I mean.  It can take Rodney about a week to fully unwind, that’s pretty bad ah!! (Maybe he should get coached on it!!).

I think we are all guilty of overdoing certain aspects of our life, I know that as a coach I will ask my clients to take a reality check test to ascertain what areas of their life needs more attention.  I appreciate that change is easier said than done sometimes.  It then comes down to a choice of how you choose to live your life and what you will put up with as a result of your choices.

The expression work life balance was first used in the 1980’s to help explain the unhealthy life choices that many people were making, they were choosing to neglect other important areas in their lives such as family, friends and hobbies in favour of work related chores and goals. 

Many people these days experience burnouts due to overwork and increased stress, this condition is seen in nearly all occupations from blue collar to upper management.  Over the past decade a rise in workplace violence and increased absenteeism and compensation claims are all evidence of an unhealthy work life balance.

Many people report stress is related to the conflict between work and family.  Persistent stress can result in cardiovascular disease, sexual health problems, a weaker immune system, frequent headaches, stiff muscles or backache.  It can also result in pour coping skills, irritability, jumpiness, insecurity, exhaustion and difficulty concentrating.  Stress may also lead to binge eating, smoking and alcohol consumption.
I’m not sure if any of those symptoms ring a bell with yourself, your partner or even your work colleagues, but it is certainly something to watch out for, don’t you agree?

Many people know within themselves if they are suffering from an imbalance.  Others are too busy to notice the symptoms and until something more drastic happens will often continue to ignore warnings from their own body and loved ones who are always happy to inform them.

Firstly can I say that in today’s global society, with high demands placed on our business, job, determination to succeed and provide for our families I can fully appreciate that our lives appear to be lop sided, so that one or more of our priorities has less importance.

At the end of the day it comes to choice, it is a choice if we work a 40 or a 60 hour week, it is a choice if we spend weekends with family or friends, it is a choice if we live in a modest or designer home, it is a choice how many children we have, and where they attend school.

To have work life balance you need to be giving equal attention to the following eight areas of your life:

• your health/body
• your family
• your own personal growth
• your relationships
• finances
• work/career
• relaxation

If you could imagine all these areas of your life as a wheel on your car, how smooth a ride would you be having?

Some possibilities you could implement to make an immediate change would be to:

1. Slow down – distance yourself from what is causing you the most stress.  If it is people, then spend less time with them.  If it is work, then look at ways to spend less time there or reduce time spent at work or possibly streamlining your work load.

2. Share the load – get help. Find someone to help you achieve the same result with less stress.

3. Let things go – don’t sweat the small stuff, so what if the house doesn’t get cleaned every week.  Learn to recognise the things that don’t really have much impact in your life, allow yourself to let them go, and don’t beat yourself up about it.  Maybe just maybe a cleaner could be the perfect gift for yourself or your partner, so that you free yourself up to do something more important.  I have some wonderful advice about letting things go from a family of 5 children now, you can imagine that with 5 children you could always be in reaction for one thing or another, well their advice is simply this:  the least amount of Rules you have the least amount of time you are in reaction.  Great advice ah!!!

4. Take charge and set priorities – what is your focus for the rest of the year and next year?  Set realistic goals; develop a list, schedule it into your diary if need be.  Don’t forget to celebrate your goals as you accomplish them, so often our accomplishments go unrewarded.  But if you have gone to the trouble of setting a goal and then following through why not celebrate it, you certainly deserve to acknowledge yourself for a job well done, wouldn’t you agree?

5. Simplify – too often we take on far too many new tasks and responsibilities.  Learn to say NO.  I appreciate that it isn’t always appropriate to rock the boat so to speak especially at work, but maybe this is the change that is needed to fulfil the balance in your life.

6. Manage time – stop procrastinating, one of the biggest stresses comes from being disorganised.  What if I was to tell you that stress is just a fear?  It is a fear of not achieving, not succeeding.  Do you think you’d look at stress differently?  If you knew what your fear is then you can put a different priority on it couldn’t you? 

Denis Waitley, a motivational speaker once said, “Losers try to escape from their fears and drudgery with activities that are tension relieving.  Winners are motivated by their desires toward activities that are goal-achieving.”

Learn to enjoy life, take things slowly, sit down and listen to the birds chirping or the sounds of your children playing, in fact play with them.  Watch the sun rise or set whichever is your favourite.  Turn your phone off and curl up with a good book or your partner and learn to live life for what it is.

I do know that the reward to having a well balanced life is total harmony within oneself.  Be warned, until you achieve total harmony, these are simply words. When you have achieved it you will know you are there.
Your Destiny Unfolds with
Rodney & Vicki Williams
www.yourdestinyunfolds.com
www.coachingbyrovick.com.au