Why is it so hard to maintain balance in our everyday lives?  One reason is because balance is a moving target.  From day to day, our own individual point of balance can change depending on how much energy we have available and where our focus is.  Let me give you an example….have you ever seen a juggler who keeps throwing another ball into the air?  What do you think is eventually going to happen?  He will eventually end up dropping his juggling balls, right?  Well, what do you think is going to happen if you keep adding tasks, events, and items to your daily grind?  Eventually some of these things won’t be successful will they?  Just like the juggler with too many balls in the air, the more things we have going on in our life, the more difficult it is to keep everything going without dropping the ball.  As the pace of our lives accelerates, so does our need to stay in balance. 

How can you come to have balance in your everyday life?  The first step is to identify that you are out of balance.  Common signs of being out of balance are feelings of being overwhelmed, continual stress, poor health, and difficulty in making progress on goals.  If any of these examples fit you, you are probably feeling some stress due to being a bit out of balance.  What to do?…..start out by taking a deep, cleansing breath and then let’s focus on making things more simple. 

Simplifying life is the easiest way to find and maintain balance.  When you have time to rest, to think about what has happened in the past, and what’s coming next, it is natural to come back to center.  For example, when we are centered and balanced we can operate from integrity, make conscious choices, and have room to breathe.  I learned this first hand a few years ago as I realized I was feeling out of balance.  I wrote down on a piece of paper some things that I knew would help me stay balanced and centered.  Every time I found myself getting out of balance I referred to my list.  Instantly I was reminded of what I needed to do to get back to center.  Whether it was drink more water, get more sleep or go get some exercise, it worked like a charm!  In fact it worked so well that I expanded my list and made it into my first book, Brian’s List! 

As you learn how to become more balanced, it will benefit you greatly to really pay attention to your feelings.  I want you to really get to know yourself!  By doing this, you can then begin to concentrate on what things you need to do to get into balance.  Everyone is different.  What I need to do to be in balance, may be different from what you need to do to be in balance.  For example, you may need only 6 hours of sleep a night, where I require 8 hours.  Through careful examination of yourself you will find different triggers that will help you find and maintain balance.  

Though we may disagree a bit about what we each need to do to keep our own lives in balance, we all will agree that staying in balance is of the upmost importance to live a healthy, happy, fulfilling life!   Is your life in balance?