What does it mean to you to live a balanced life?
I hear this term used all the time, and have used it myself, but what exactly does it mean?
Yes, we should all have a desire for equilibrium in our lives. Equilibrium brings us a sense of peace and wellness when we achieve it. But do most of us actually know how to bring it about?
Work and pleasure should not interfere with each other. We might feel like a night out on the town having drinks with friends each week will bring us balance.
And we certainly have to balance our nutrition of healthy and not so healthy foods to truly enjoy the abundance of life before us, right? Many people believe that by enjoying their vices, their lives are balancing out, because they feel good in the moment.
Achieving equilibrium is a very exciting concept about maximizing the quality of our lives. We only live once, therefore we should not get bogged down in one aspect of our lives, to the detriment of the others. We should not want to find ourselves at the end of our lives filled with regrets. Sadly, what many people believe has brought balance to their lives was only an illusion. An illusion that has brought about more misery than it did in quality living. Bringing about equilibrium does not occur by giving into our vices. You might want to argue the point, but you would be living in the moment and not looking to your future by doing so.
The importance of a balanced life.
Maintaining a balanced life is important for your personal health and well-being in this fast-paced, modern world. Sustaining a balanced diet, alongside personal fitness, can help improve and stabilize overall health and wellbeing. Nights of drinking, days of eating junk foods, and a sedentary life will never bring you health or well being. However, this would be what many consider as having a balanced life.
A balanced life will provide the following:
- Improved health. No matter who you are, it’s easy to let things like exercise and diet go by the wayside once our lives become too busy. But the reality is, the bodies we are blessed with are the only bodies we are going to get, and it needs to carry you until the end of life. That’s why it’s critical to continue to keep your body strong and healthy enough to enable you to do the things that excite you, even into your senior years.
- Improved family life. Family ties are the tightest relationships you should have in your life, no matter how busy life can get for you. When you indulge in your vices, do they actually improve the quality of your family life? When your health has been ruined by your “balance” will you be an asset or a burden to your family? Think about it.
- Financial benefits. When living a so-called balanced life that involves poor nutritional habits and other vices, think about the financial ruin that can come from the sickness and disease these habits can bring about. Lost time from work, and extraordinarily high medical bills can ruin a family. Is this balance?
- Personal growth. A healthy life balance allows you to achieve higher goals in life. Skills and other abilities are enhanced through socialization, different experience, and trying new hobbies which you need time for. People have a higher level of worth and satisfaction when they can do the things they love.
- Improved relationships. Spending time with the people we love helps to maintain healthy and long-lasting relationships. Stress, anxiety, and other work-related issues are often carried home and are detrimental to personal relationships. With a balanced life, we can maintain healthy relationships as a result of less irritability and depression. The rewards of hard work are more fulfilling when we can share them with friends.
Take care and look after yourself.
In order to achieve a balanced lifestyle, you must make sure you are healthy. Your body needs plenty of rest, exercise and healthy food. It’s important to take some time out from a busy day to enjoy activities and unwind by reading or meditating.
Everything in moderation is a phrase we hear and use often. Everything in moderation means that there’s a healthy balance to your life, so laugh, love, live, and be healthy. Balanced living means having a positive outlook, focusing on good habits, and lowering stress.