Are you living a balanced life?
Talk about a loaded question!
After all, what does a balanced life actually look like?
- Is it merely about achieving that elusive ‘work/life’ balance we’re always chasing?
- Is it about acing a balanced diet and an enviable workout schedule?
- Is it about becoming an Insta-worthy beacon of perfection? The woman who effortlessly holds her yogic Tree pose while fielding homeschooling questions and conducting a Zoom meeting with her colleagues?
In reality, it’s none of those things — and all of them.
Because creating more balance in your life is a multi-faceted journey.
It IS about seeking a healthier balance between work and home life (yes, even during lockdowns/homeschooling). It IS about working towards a more joyful attitude towards food and movement.
And, while we all know that perfection doesn’t exist, on Instagram or otherwise, it IS about learning to juggle the various aspects of your life with a certain amount of grace and poise (at least most of the time!)
But more than anything, a balanced life is about flexibility.
It’s about finding out how to live YOUR life in a way that fills you with happiness and energy without having to undergo a complete personality transplant and lifestyle overhaul.
I know what you’re thinking:
That all sounds fabulous — in theory. But how do you actually draw all of the strands of a balanced life together in a way that makes sense for you, your strengths, your passions, and your responsibilities?
Introducing The Balance Method™.
While it’s important to recognise that ‘a balanced life’ is NOT a one-size-fits-all, and that what looks like a balanced life for you right now, might need a few tweaks and alterations depending on changing circumstances, I’ve found that there is a foolproof formula you can follow to create more balance in your day-to-day life.
I call it The Balance Method™ and it centres on five different pillars. Each pillar is separate and focusing on any one of them is guaranteed to give you an instant mood boost.
But taken together? That’s where the real magic happens!
When you work your way through the pillars you’ll find it easier to decipher what YOUR own version of a beautifully balanced life could look like and you’ll have the most powerful, transformative tools to make it a reality.
Let’s look at the five pillars…
1. Past, present, future you..
Who do you want to be when you grow up?
If you feel like you shouldn’t still be asking yourself this question in your 30s, your 40s, or even beyond, I have some news for you:
We’re all still trying to figure this one out!
Absolutely no one is 100% the person they want to be. And whether you’re asking this in relation to your career, your health, your interactions with those around you, your character, or your passions, there’s always more to learn. Always somewhere else to go.
So this pillar is all about tapping into ‘future you’, about delving into that gorgeous mind of yours and getting clarity on your purpose.
Because when you find your purpose, you’ll find it so much easier to adjust your priorities and your expectations and how they impact upon your day-to-day life.
Of course, a vital part of moving forward, is acknowledging where you are right now.
Are there any areas of your life that feel particularly unbalanced? Any areas that are contributing to your stress levels and depleting your energy?
Which actions, attitudes, and behaviours have led you to this point? And why does this feel like the perfect time to start addressing the imbalances in your life?
While you’re reflecting, don’t forget to focus on the positives too — I’m willing to bet there are certain aspects of your life that you’re acing (even if it doesn’t always feel that way!).
Take some time to acknowledge your strengths and tap into the gratitude you feel for all the wonderful things you have going on BEFORE you start carving out ‘future you’.
Finally: remember, it’s not a race. It’s about YOU moving forward in a way that works for you and your life the way it is right now. So take your time over this pillar and give yourself some grace as you do so.
2. The power of routine..
We all know that daily life throws endless curveballs. But having a set morning and evening routine, one that you can follow effortlessly MOST of the time, is often the key to not letting a one-day setback knock your balance long-term.
In fact, your daily routines are one of the most powerful tools you have in achieving balance; they have a huge impact your wellness, your energy levels, and can help you swap a fitful night for a restful, restorative sleep.
So have a think about what your routines look like now. Are they giving you what you need or is there room for improvement? What impact do they have on your day and your sleep patterns? Is there something you’ve been thinking of adding to either routine? Or something that you’re doing out of habit rather than because it’s actually bringing you benefit?
Like this? You might also enjoy The Ultimate Self-Care Routine for Dark Winter Mornings
3. Nourish your soul.
The previous pillars have largely focused on your mind and your emotional balance but we can’t separate the body and the mind — if you want to achieve balance overall, you can’t neglect one over the other.
So let’s explore the first of our pillars dealing with balance in your physical body.
If you do nothing else to help restore balance in this area of your life, I’d urge you to do this ONE thing:
Ditch the fad diet.
Because, lovely, you deserve to eat food that lights you up. You deserve to eat food that brings you joy, that nourishes you from the inside out, that gives you the energy you need to show up for your work, to show up for the people who love you, and to show up for your own dreams and passions.
What does that look like for you? There’s only one way to find out: experiment.
Because I could tell you how I eat but you and I do not have identical bodies or identical nutritional needs. So play around with your diet, explore new foods, new recipes, new combinations. Pay attention to which foods zap your energy — and which make you feel like the Duracell bunny.
4. There’s magic in movement.
As with food, there’s no magic bullet; no one exercise regime that’ll work for everyone. No one routine that CAN work for everyone, given that we all have different fitness levels, different physical abilities, and different relationships with movement.
But here’s what I can tell you:
When you find a form of movement that you love, that inspires you, that works with your specific body and physical needs, it amplifies everything else you’re doing to achieve balance and energy in your life.
So job number one? Find your version of joyful movement.
And two? Find a way to make it easy!
5. The new normal.
How many times have you started a new diet, a new workout plan, a new self-care strategy…and given up after a couple of weeks?
Well, not this time!
The final pillar centres on embedding everything that you’ve worked on over the last four pillars and figuring out how to make the positive changes stick.
This is the time to reflect on the progress you’ve made, on what worked and what didn’t, and on how you feel now compared to how you felt before you started pillar one, before making yourself a plan of action that’ll help this new balanced version of your life become your new normal.
And finally? Take a second to congratulate yourself on just how far you’ve come to get to this point. You’re officially incredible!
We could ALL use more balance in our lives, especially now, as we juggle the other ‘new normal’ of rolling lockdown restrictions, working from home, home schooling, and everything else the last year has thrown at us.
But none of us has to figure it out alone. To help you find more balance, more happiness, more energy, and more sparkle in your life, I’ve created an online group programme, based on the five pillars.
In The Balance Method™, you’ll have complete access to the five pillar plan, including 10 1-hour deep-dive live group coaching sessions, 4 1-hour interactive Q&A sessions, and a Facebook group filled with a tonne of other inspiring women all looking for more balance in their lives.
Come and join us and explore the pillars for yourself —find out HOW to find movement that inspires you, a diet that fills you with energy, daily routines that fit YOUR life. Throughout the programme, I will guide you to make small but impactful daily changes to realign your routines so that you have all of the energy you need to get you through your day as well as the ability to drop off effortlessly at night.
Together we’ll create a vision of ‘future you’ that speaks to your passions and your purpose, that fills you with excitement, and that taps into all of that glorious potential bubbling away inside you.
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