This is a loaded question as balance is in the eye of the beholder. The approach to health and wellness coaching that I practice and indeed advocate is predicated on each individual finding a balance that works for them.
Oftentimes that balance is achieved through the development of an area in our lives that has been diminished or neglected due to:
As beings with a lifetime of experiences, successful and less than successful, we have at our disposal the ability to draw upon our experiences and redesign a better balanced life. We can apply our unique skills and experiences in ways that help us to reach our vision of a balanced life.
Take inventory
I believe the first step in the process of gaining balance is taking a good inventory of our lives. This inventory helps us to see what we need and do not need. We need to let go of what we do not need. Ask yourselves the following questions:
In the search for balance, sometimes we need to build something new in our lives. Letting go clears the space to build something new.
Remember your dreams?
The second step in finding balance might be looking back at our lives and revisiting the dreams for ourselves that we had along the way. Ask yourself:
These are important questions to ask ourselves because we all have a unique set of values that define who we truly are. When we suppress or ignore what we hold dear, we tend to feel compromised and unbalanced. Our values are the legs that hold us up as we walk through this world. If we do not exercise them, they waste away and we end up limping through life.
Create your vision
I suggest the next step might be to create a vision of how we see ourselves in an ideal, balanced future. Once envisioned, ask yourself the following questions:
Go for it!
After all of this discovery about ourselves, the final step would be to take action. People often thing of balance as a static thing where the scale no longer moves up and down. If this were only true! Balance is more like walking a tight rope. Life changes, we change, and our resources for maintaining balance change, therefore we must adapt and change. It is a dynamic rather than static process and it takes time.
We must take action to keep moving forward towards a vision of a balanced and fulfilling life. We need to have courage to take a chance on ourselves. We need to know ourselves to take those calculated risks. We need to find others to encourage us as well as hold us accountable along the way. I believe that this is the best way to find balance.