You may have heard the expression, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”   This expression has often reminded us that change does not happen overnight. It reminds us that we live in a world of limitations, including our time.

When it comes to time, we all have 24 hours in a day to get things done. Some days we may even ask ourselves, is this enough time to take care of all our tasks and responsibilities? Have you ever struggled with finding time to balance your everyday life and accomplish everything you wanted to get done? If so, this article will focus on life skills to help you find balance.

We will look at a definition of a well-balanced life and discuss guidelines to help you make changes in your life to find more balance.   These guidelines include the following:

• Focus on what is important
• Set healthy boundaries
• Learn to say no
• Take time to rest
• It’s okay not to be perfect
• Manage what you can handle

Let’s get started with the discussion!

What does it mean to have a well-balanced life?

A well-balanced life is considered a healthy relationship with all areas of our life. These areas include spiritual, emotional, financial, social, physical, mental, environmental, and occupational health.

Managing each of these areas can become challenging as we try to take care of the “need to” responsibilities we have to do versus the “want to” activities we would like to do.

Sometimes the lines of a well-balanced life can blur as we try to do everything or too much at once, resulting in stress overload that impacts our relationships, health, and work performance.

Let’s continue and discuss ways to improve your life balance.

Focus on what is important

As mentioned earlier, we all have limited daily time to get things done. Each second, minute, hour, or day is not even promised to us. We live day to day, not knowing what the next day holds.

However, while we are here, learn to live in the moment by focusing on what is important to you. I truly believe that God has given us each an assignment to work on which aligns with our purpose. We can all ask ourselves, “why am I here?”

What motivates or inspires you the most in life? What would that be if you had summarized what you wanted to accomplish? What is God’s purpose for your life?

These questions and more can begin the process of opening your mind to consider the essential things in life. Take time to think about these things and focus your attention on what matters most to you.

Set healthy boundaries

Establishing healthy boundaries is very critical to your overall health. But, unfortunately, sometimes, we can try to wear too many hats in attempting to be everything to everyone.

If you try to please everyone or overextend yourself by doing too much, you can set yourself up for health issues. Instead, take time to evaluate when and where to set limitations on your activities and not allow yourself to be taken for granted.

As we get older, we begin to learn from experiences what works and does not work for us. Listen to your inner voice and use your intuition to set boundaries to protect your mental and physical health.

Learn to say no

Just saying “no” is not always easy, especially if you have been helping with many activities for some time. A sense of guilt is felt when we are asked to do something and say no. It’s like our subconscious mind wants us to say no, but our conscious mind keeps saying yes out of habit.

We may fear that our reputation may be ruined if we say no too often, and people may form a negative opinion of us. However, not saying no to things that may be unhealthy for you can cause undue stress and anxiety.

Learning to say “no” is about setting limits on what you are willing or able to take. Imagine for a moment that you already have a whole load of responsibilities to handle and are struggling to keep up with everything you are currently doing.

If asked to take on something else, take a step back and give yourself time to evaluate if this is something you can add to your load or if it is something you will need to say no to. The bottom line is to be honest with yourself and not take on more than you can handle.

Take time to rest

Everyone needs rest to recharge and prepare for each day. However, sometimes we overlook the long-term effect of not getting enough rest. A quote says, “you can not pour from an empty cup.”  This is very true for our bodies.

We can push ourselves to do more and rest less; however, it will affect us as we age. That is why it is important to get rest and rejuvenate ourselves.

For example, in Genesis 2: 2-3, even God took time to rest on the seventh day after His work of creating and making everything.

We, too, must take time to rest. This can be accomplished by getting a proper amount of sleep each day, taking naps from time to time, or just letting your brain have some downtime doing nothing.

It’s okay not to be perfect.

Whether in our personal or professional work life, there is a desire to excel and do well. This is because we have a built-in measurement for our self-esteem to be rewarded for accomplishing different tasks. However, if we are not careful, we may push ourselves very hard to maintain extremely high standards for ourselves and others. This can lead to a desire for perfection and, ultimately, burnout.

Being perfect in everything can be an overwhelming goal that can cause us to place unnecessary stress on ourselves and others. Instead of striving for perfection, learn to appreciate the small things in life and live in the moment.

Learn to have fun and spend time accepting yourself and others as humans trying to do their best daily. No one has to be perfect, but we can always strive to improve and improve the world.

Manage what you can handle

My father taught me a great lesson about life when I was a little boy. As I was filling my plate with food one day, he told me not to put too much on my plate. He said I should only put the amount of food I could eat on my plate.

I was starving, and my eyes were much bigger than my appetite resulting in me filling my plate with more than I could eat. My father made me stay at the table until I had finished eating everything on my plate, which took quite some time. After that day, I learned to add smaller portions to my plate to avoid overfilling my plate with more than what I could eat.

The lesson my father gave me can also help us in life. Do not take on more than you can chew or handle. Instead, add small portions of what you can handle at a time and only add more when there is room to handle more.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, we discussed guidelines for finding balance in life. These guidelines included focusing on what is important to you, setting healthy boundaries, learning to say no, taking time to rest, not trying to be perfect, and managing what you can handle.

These guidelines are intended to provide balance in how you respond to taking on responsibilities while living your life. But is there a perfect balance every time? It all depends on how we react to what is asked of us versus what we can handle. In addition, each person will have different abilities, and some may be able to take more than others.

However, no one will know what you can handle better than God and yourself. So ask God for direction on what you should do and use wisdom to learn from experiences to avoid being overloaded with more than you can take on.

Please share your thoughts, comments, or life lessons you have learned that can help others find balance in their lives. As always, thanks for visiting. Your time is appreciated.