"Balance, The Juggling Act!"

As a counselor and coach, I have often talked about balancing personal life and work life with clients. It is an amazing and rewarding feeling knowing that you are accomplishing tasks personally and within your career. Unfortunately balancing the two can get very stressful if we are not mindful of the amount our body can handle.
So how does someone find work life balance? An overall feeling of contentment is a good sign of having reached this balance; you find time to relax on weekends with loved ones, you are happy to go to work and put forth your best effort, and you feel physically well. Now, these are very general indicators of having achieved a balance but they do signify some important aspects of balance that you should look to achieving;

1) Setting aside time to spend with you family and friends is an important social goal. This provides us with feelings of love, happiness, acceptance, and community. These people support us, while we support them, and form a bond that has been woven into our genetic makeup as beings.
2) Secondly, going to work with a positive attitude and putting forth your best effort regardless of the tasks or office drama at hand is reflective of internal balance.

The ability to do these things requires a sense of purpose, self-confidence, and general feelings of enlightenment that come with a balanced life. It takes a strong, and confident person who is generally in an emotionally happy place to avoid getting caught up in the rat race, or to have the ability to leave the rat race when they clock out for the day. This mindset will be pronounced during large corporate changes, such as reorganizations that can lead many individuals to feel neglected, overwhelmed, under-appreciated, or lost. These individuals are able to separate their self-worth from the position they hold in the office. When your value is not dependent on external variables, there will be a more consistent and calming view of your place in the world.

3) Finally, having an overall feeling of health means making your health a priority. This includes food intake, exercise, and rest for the body and mind. American society is not conducive to this mindset. Americans are unhealthy, overweight, over worked and stressed out. There is a culture within our society that promotes over scheduling, and constantly being on the go. Kids need to be involved in multiple after school activities, and parents are expected to get the work done regardless of the cost to their health or families.

Finding enjoyment in your day to day life is what makes life wonderful. When we get so consumed with details, finding time to schedule fun becomes less of a priority, until it is nothing but a luxury that we can no longer afford. Finding time for yourself is not a luxury. In fact it will make you better at what you do. A relaxed and happy employee will produce better work. Coworkers who are healthy and happy will likely be more supportive. Parents who are not overwhelmed will be better parents. Children who are not stress out will learn as adults that life is not about overworking themselves. There are many ways to increase balance in life, and its easier than you think. Making small changes in your daily routine is a great way of finding more balance.