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Guidelines to Balance

The Seven Priorities of Balance

1. Determine Your Ideal:  You want to be happy. I want to be happy. No one wakes up in the morning and asks, “how can I make myself miserable today?” All of us want the ideal life: a successful career, a stimulating marriage, well-adapted children, rewarding friendships, and more. Sometimes life shakes us up a little, and we can become overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted! This is when we need to remember to take a deep breath and bring everything back into perspective. We have to remind ourselves what is really important. Worrying over our fears of the future prevents us from dealing with the present situation as we should. Take time to form your ideals, because happiness comes when we experience the interior freedoms of who we are, our beliefs, our relationship with others, and knowing what is important.

2.  Set Goals to Reach It:  Who you become is infinitely more important than what you do or what you have. Does this statement challenge you to look closer at your different choices, maybe take a different path, or set new goals that will improve your life?  To set goals means that you keep moving forward. “First do what is necessary, then what is possible, and before long you will be doing the impossible.” (Francis of Assisi)  If you had only a few months to live would you try to achieve more fame and success, or obtain more material things… Or would you decide to spend more time with your family and friends? Make the choice to accept who you are, and reflect on the direction your life is taking. Setting goals and living your priorities will impact your life and the lives of your family, friends, and co-workers.

3.  Feed Your Intellect for the Journey:  Ideas are plans for action; they shape our lives, inspire us, challenge us, and can change our tomorrows for better or worse. We all need a diet of the mind just as much as we need a diet of the body, because the ideas we feed our mind today form our future lives. Seek wisdom, not for the purpose of controlling others, but to “gain control of our own mind, form our own thoughts, and make our own decisions.”  You are unique because of your personal life choices, and learning the process of decision-making and how to make good choices helps you to achieve better outcomes in life.

4.  Be Courageous: Decisions in life require courage. Courage animates us, brings us to life, and makes everything we support possible. Think about our history: the brave men and women of all time. Which of these people do you most admire for their stand on values and purpose? Tremendous advancements in the material and scientific realms challenged people to sacrifice and defend their values. Nothing worthwhile in history has been achieved without the courage to stand up for beliefs and the desire to make a difference. Don’t let fear of making decisions paralyze your life… Be courageous! Courage gives strength to your mind. You can acquire and strengthen it through the practice of bravery, because the choice to have courage has engendered every great moment and movement in history.

 5.  Seek Advice:   Most people don’t know how to acquire a balanced life, set priorities, or make optimal choices in their lives. Understanding how we can become more balanced requires learning how to make different choices, set our limitations, and discover our strengths and weaknesses. This power of knowledge of ourselves gives us an interior freedom that liberates us from the modern enslavement of a life without meaning and purpose. We need to seek advice and information from others who are successful in what they do, because most successes, triumphs, and worthwhile achievements are rarely accomplished without the wisdom and advice of others.

6.  Appreciate Others:   Be respectful of people’s opinions, be a good listener, and be grateful for their friendship. When we choose to make someone laugh, share our wisdom, allow them to cry on our shoulder, or lend an understanding ear, we show a kindness that will make a difference in their life. Do not judge people on the rights or wrongs that they do, but rather accept and appreciate them as they are. In reality, you should view each person who crosses your path as an opportunity to encourage, appreciate, and love. At the end of the day, think about the feeling of satisfaction you will have from knowing you have touched another person’s life. 

7.  Authentically Live your Choices:   All behavior is a choice... Are your choices causing you to struggle to balance your personal obligations? Without choosing and authentically living your priorities, life can become overwhelming and hectic. Live in the present, and understand that we can only control our behavior indirectly through how we choose to act and think. Choose to be authentic, live your values and principles because the only person whose behavior you can control is yours.