Life Balance Coaching
"Circumstances are the rulers of the weak; they are but the
instruments of the wise." --Samuel Lover
One of the most common complaints of clients who want life
balance coaching is that their plate is fuller than full. From
professional to business owner to home maker, having a quality
life has become increasingly challenging. The demands of modern
life often leave some people feeling dragged out and inadequate
instead of personally empowered. Many people know intellectually
that they can't give 100% to everything, yet still they have
unreasonable expectations for themselves. As a result
something's gotta give, and usually, it is their self-care &
personal fulfillment.
Is your development in career, relationships, or other life
categories suffering because you take on too much? See if this
sounds like something you might be saying to yourself. "Life
just seems to be whizzing by me, and I don't really feel as
though I'm spending enough quality time on the things that
matter most to me. I worry a lot that I'm going to somehow miss
my life and then it will be over."
Life's demands may not slow up any time soon, and learning life
balance is an ongoing art. If you think one day you will get it
all done, and then you can relax, you are bound to be
disappointed.
So then how can we create an alternative to the demands of this
fast-paced, over-busy society? Women and men alike want to
insure that those things of greatest importance to them get the
amount of attention they deserve.
While there aren't always simple answers to a quality lifestyle
in which balance reigns, here are some basic life management
skills that our life balance coaching clients have found
extremely helpful:
Number one: Identify the top four priority categories in your
life that you want to balance (i.e., spirituality/personal
development, family/relationship, career, personal care/health)
and honestly assess how much time you give to each category.
Often, people have expectations of themselves that are
unreasonable given the amount of time they actually have to
devote to something. If, for example, you are giving only 50% of
your time to a career, it is truly unreasonable to expect
yourself to be a superstar in that category. But if kids and
family are a top priority to you, giving only 50% to career is
probably the most you could give and still have enough time and
energy left over.
Number two: Write things down! Don't use your brain as your day
planner. Doing so increases stress. Consider making five
separate life balance "to do" lists. The first four lists
correlate with your four top priority life categories (from our
example above, one for spirituality/personal development, one
for family/relationships, one for career/work and one for
personal care/health). Then the fifth list would be for general
"to do's" that don't fit into those top four categories.
>From these lists make sure you schedule the important items in
your priority categories first, before anything else makes it
onto your calendar. As a result you won't have to worry whether
you're making time for priorities. Then you can pick and choose
from your general to do list which additional activities you may
need to, have to or (actually want to), fit in. By the way,
don't be afraid to use that good word "no" to any time-robbers
you identify!
Number three: Practice being in the present moment only. Let's
say you're always thinking about your endless pile of work at
the office when you're home with the family. Fact is there is
absolutely nothing you can do about those things on your desk.
Worrying about it takes precious time and attention away from
your priorities and increases your feelings of dissatisfaction
about life.
It takes practice and some mental self-control to keep your
attention on what's happening in the present moment, but this
tip alone will bring huge rewards. When you savor the series of
life moments one by one, you will find you don't feel as though
you're missing out.
Be patient and loving with yourself, whether you apply the
above tips yourself or integrate them into your life through
Life Balance Coaching. Always remember, life balance is an
ongoing process and it will throw you curve balls from time to
time. The key to growth and personal fulfillment is to remember
it is a process rather than an event. But with practice, you
will find coming back to equilibrium gets quicker & easier. As a
result, you will enjoy life more and have a more consistent
experience of happiness.