Health Tips – Regaining a Sense of Control
Regaining a sense of control
It’s important to recognize that work-life balance is not about scheduling and allocating time – it’s about regaining a sense of accomplishment and control. It’s about making choices that are right for the time and circumstances of your life. It’s about living life in a way that makes you feel happy, rewarded and fulfilled.
In your search for a balanced lifestyle, start by asking you self these simple questions:
- Do you feel good about how you’re spending your time?
- Are you aware of the choices you’re making or is life running roughshod over you?
- Are you nourishing the things that are important to you?
- Are the choices and sacrifices you’re making today moving you towards a goal or vision for your future?
- Do you understand the implications of your choices on your family and your work?
A balancing act
Rather than letting external circumstances push and pull you through life, take responsibility for the choices you make. Take time to plan, to set goals, to make good decisions about allocating your limited personal time.
Sometimes, you may have to make sacrifices in one area of your life, in order to accomplish in another. The important thing is to ensure that you are spending your time and energy effectively and not focusing obsessively on one thing, at the expense of your health, relationships and family.
To help you gain greater control of your life, consider these simple techniques:
Set personal boundaries
Think about situations that frustrate you or cause you to make needless personal sacrifices. Are people taking advantage of you? They can only do that if you let them. Establish limits for yourself. Decide what you’re willing to accept and where you will draw the line. Then stick to your rules!
Adjust your standards
Are you a slave to your standards? Sometimes we do things a certain way because we’ve always done it like that or we think it’s expected of us. Find areas where you can ease back a little – maybe you can learn to live with a few dust bunnies, if it means you have time for a hot bath at the end of the day! Ask for help if you need it – you don’t always have to shoulder all the burdens yourself
Pursue your passions
If something makes you feel good – make time for it. Sure, spending time on a favourite project may cause you to neglect other parts of your life. But, if a personal interest or hobby gives you a sense of achievement and satisfaction, then it’s worth a few sacrifices here or there. After all, Michelangelo didn’t achieve greatness by following a perfectly balanced lifestyle!
Take time to smell the roses
Trite but true! It’s important to put yourself first – at least some of the time. Don’t neglect your own needs because you’re always doing what’s best for someone else. Take time to reward yourself for all your hard work. Read a book, take a nap or indulge in a special treat. If you’re respectful of your own needs, it’s much easier to find the resources to respect and support the needs of those around you