Balance Your Life Activities

It is valuable to remember that the hallmark of health is balance – balance and harmony – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. For example physically your heart rate needs to be in a certain balanced range. Your respiratory rate needs to be within a certain balanced range. And they both need to come together with the appropriate harmony of their ranges.

When we apply this principle of balance to our life activities we find that for most people the primary parts of life that require balance are work, play, family and rest.

The balance of time in our lives that we allocate to these different parts is not the same for everyone. For example a person who’s life calling is to primarily parent their children will require a different balance that someone who is destined to be an astronaut. There is no single equation that will be right for everyone but all four parts are relevant for everyone. Each of us must examine our own lives and determine our needed balance. The key here is to do it consciously. If we unconsciously allow whatever is going on to consume our time, energy and attention, then the other parts of our life will suffer – and as a result we may miss the happiness and health we could have enjoyed.

 While it can be considered ideal for our work to be something we love to do, not everyone is able to have or create this circumstance. Whether or not we have this ideal we must still balance the time, energy and focus that we use for work with the rest of our lives. Either too much or too little work will have less than positive effects for us. If we don’t balance our work with the rest of our lives then as time passes we will not be as happy or fulfilled. It has already been explained on our “Intentional Living” page how happiness effects health.

As children we knew we needed to play. As adults many of us have forgotten this. It is well recognized by many people who work with children that if children can’t have some fun then they have less energy and enthusiasm. Our energy and enthusiasm effects our health. Having fun may be a key factor for our cells feeling like they have something to live for. Some people have forgotten how to have fun but it will serve us all to have some fun everyday.

Most people schedule everything but fun into their daily life. We have seen dramatic changes in people’s lives when they simply realized this and specifically scheduled fun into their day. It doesn’t have to be a long amount of time but it should be at least 20 minutes. And it doesn’t have to be monumental. Simply do something that you enjoy. It must, however, have no ulterior motive for doing it other than to have fun. Pretending we are having fun by listening to music while we work will not help us.

Once again our play time must balance with the rest of our life. Life hands us responsibilities and we must meet these responsibilities or they will come back to haunt us. Either too much or too little play will not serve us. Living a conscious plan to have a balanced amount of fun every day will foster a healthier and more rewarding existence.

Most of us have a family but some do not. If you live alone and don’t have a family then find an activity that connects you with people that you can get to know and enjoy. Make this a part of your regular activities.

If we have a family it is fair to say that they occupy a major part of our hearts. If we neglect our family we will probably come to experience an emptiness in our own hearts. This emptiness cannot be corrected by self-absorbed techniques or processes. We have to open our hearts for them to be filled. We need to balance the time and enthusiasm that we have with our family with the other parts of our life. If we fail to do this then the void in our own hearts may leave us feeling as if we have less to live for. Such a feeling will not foster a rich, fulfilling and healthy life.

Last but not least is our need for rest. This includes both a waking time of relaxation and the amount of sleep we get. If we do nothing but run on a schedule every day and leave no time for repose then our stress from the days activities may not release but may accumulate. This is not healthy. Just as we need to plan to have time for work, play and family in the same way we need to plan to have some at-ease time. What this is or how we structure it will be different for different people but it is beneficial for all and should be part of our daily lives.

For decades there have been many studies done that show how much sleep we get effects both our health and the quality of our life. While some individuals may need more or less sleep than others, most of the studies suggest that we do best if we are getting between six and eight hours of sleep each night. Again, some people may need closer to six and others may need closer to eight hours of sleep but all need their proper amount. Getting either too much or too little sleep seems to have it’s disadvantages so once again, balance is the key.

We will all do well to examine our lives and determine our own proper balance for work, play, family and rest. As has been mentioned, this balance is one of the pillars of our health foundation. Review your life and state of balance occasionally and re-set whatever needs re-setting. You will have a better and healthier life experience.

* Nothing on this website is intended to be a substitute for professional health care or to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please see your health care professional if you need help with any disease or symptoms.