“Balance” a famous word these days… but what does it mean? How do I achieve it?
Work, home, traffic, money, relationships, politics, food, studies… how to manage them all when there’s no time and there are xx amount of things to be worried about these days? …. STOP! Take a moment to breathe… luckily, there is time for everything, as long as we make it happen… read this,
My name is Jess, I am a single mother of two amazing kids, and I am currently a Sr. Manager of Procurement department in LATAM region for 247.ai, I also just got certified as an Integrative Nutrition health coach and continue to study to continue to grow every day…. Yes, all this is “a lot” to handle, and as much as it can be stressful at times, I always strive to look at the better side of it, cause after all, I am blessed to be alive and Im always up for a challenge because this is my life, and I choose to make it what it is. In the past few years I’ve become passionate about finding ways to improve mine and my family’s overall wellness, to live healthier and happier lives, and I am a believer that a balanced life is achievable, and as always, it comes with some daily efforts that pay off in the long term. So today I’m sharing here a few things that currently work for me, and hopefully I can encourage you to take a few steps towards a balanced life…
1. Start your days with gratitude… THANK YOU are two magical words, that help train your brain to realize how blessed you are. I always start my days by sharing with my kids 3 things that I am grateful for, and they share theirs too. Try to think about 3 different things each day, it can be big things or very small things, everything counts. You’ll be amazed to see that, in time, your gratitude muscle can become so strong that you end up noticing things that make your day brighter.
2. Make a daily conscious decision about how you want your day to be. Spend 3 minutes setting your mind to picture how your day is going to look like, make it a daily exercise to envision your day and define if you are going to have a good or a bad attitude towards what[s coming (make it realistic!), by doing this, you are deciding that no matter what comes, you will take it in the best possible attitude and nothing can stand on your way towards enjoying your day. This is your life, your show, your movie and you are the only person who can decide if you want it to be an action movie, a soap opera or a terror movie!
3. Try to maintain a routine. I know, the word routine has a bad reputation, but I promise it is not that bad. My personal way of achieving this is by spending 30 min a week planning for my week, not to the very last minute, but in a broad way, I do this on a sunday or early monday, and it helps keep anxiety away, cause once I’m done with it, I get to live the day in the moment and focus on the present.
4. Move! Whether you like to go for a walk, run, work out, cycle, play soccer, or which ever sport you like, make sure you spend at least 10 minutes of your day doing some movement. But make it conscious! Walking towards your office doesnt count! I mean really decide to spend this time with yourself with no screens or phones or distractions. Movement is life! Give the opportunity to your brain and every cell in your body to feel the benefits of this, the reward at the end is priceless!
5. Spend time with your loved ones. Give love, receive love, leave everything aside for at least 1-2 hours a day, everything else can wait, you never know how much longer you will be in this planet.
6. Have a support group. Make sure you are always around family & friends who can support you positively and help make your environment a more comfortable place, you decide who those people are.
7. Last but not least, pick your food wisely! This is probably one of the main focuses of my life because our entire body & brain cells are made of of what you eat, it is so simple and yet we choose to eat the first thing that is in our reach, rather than thinking about whether it is going to serve your body right or not. Plan to eat enough meats, vegetables and fruits every day to make yourself feel more energized, instead of having junk food, lots of coffee, coke or sugar, which will have negative effects in the long term and will not allow you to perform in the best way all day because you are dependent on them.
No excuses! Next time you think or say that you don’t have time, think about this…
There are 24 hrs in a day,
6-8 hours of sleep: 16 - 18 hrs left
10 hours of work (work, lunch time and commute): 6-8 hrs left
2 hrs (bath time, cooking, dinner, breakfast): 4-6 hrs left
2-3 hrs studies: 1-3 hrs
What will you do in 1 to 3 hrs of time left? Plan it and you will do it.. one step at a time! I can assure you there is time for everything. :)
No matter what you do, never forget that how you want to spend your days is you decision. Thanks for reading!