Unburden and Get Life Balance

Life balance...we all talk about it but few achieve it. We want our lives to be balanced between work and play. We want more pleasure in our lives and less pain and angst. We want space and clarity, not clutter and busy-ness. So how do we obtain this rare "life balance"? Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Get rid of the "shoulds". When you hear yourself say "should" as in "I really should...", you know that it is someone else's life you are living. The real you would not need a "should". It would be natural and obvious to you. Should is a word that comes from someone else, such as your parents or your church or even society. Notice when you bring up the "shoulds", think it through, decide what is really true to you and let go of the rest.

2. Tolerating too much. Tolerations are those things that we "put up with" or "settle for" even though we don't like it, it causes us discomfort or we feel it's just too difficult to change. Things (places, people, activities) we tolerate but do not enjoy deplete our precious life energy, our time, and often create negative experiences, emotions and thoughts, none of which does us any good. For every moment you spend doing something you do not enjoy, you have wasted an opportunity to experience and enjoy that moment. List at least five things in your life that you are tolerating. To get you started, think about your work, your home, your family, your significant other, your spiritual life, your environment. Pick one of these top five tolerations and list the steps you can take right now to rid yourself of this situation or change it into something more positive that meets your needs.

3. Clean up your space and make it yours. Few people realize how strong the effect of clutter and messiness is on our psyche and our lives. Is your home an inviting place, clear of clutter? Does it make you feel serene, creative, comforted? Is your office a place you want to be? Does it feed your productivity and creativity? Does it say success to you? The environments in which you spend your time can pull you forward to success and happiness or they can create obstacles that drag on your energy and emotions. Clean them up, clear them out, add beauty wherever you can. Try this and see how you feel. Even small successes can make a big difference. I guarantee you it will make a difference in how you feel.

All blog content is copyrighted, all rights reserved, Mary Anne Fields and Life Unfolds, 2006