Knowing what matters to you and what motivates you to act in certain ways is a sign of self-awareness. Knowing your priorities and using them to guide your time-management choices will increase your likelihood of feeling comfortable, successful, happy, and healthy.
What are values, though? What makes them significant? Why is it crucial that we are clear on our own values?
When thinking of “Finding life balance” values is something that occasionally gets overlooked in this discussion. Really, the basis for finding balance is on our values. We’ll be more likely to feel at peace, successful, happy, and healthy if we know what’s important to us and base our decisions about how to spend our time on that.
What do you notice about the contrast between your values and your time management?
Are you satisfied with what you learned from engaging in this activity? If not, why not?
What one thing would you wish to change to make your life more consistent with your values?
In life, we all have a variety of priorities that vie for our time and money. To mention a few, we have our interests, work, family, and friends. We also have our faith, health, and self-care. There are no wrong priorities, but if we focus more time and effort on just one of these interests, we could find ourselves out of balance.
This is clearly visible in a workaholic who spends all of their time at the job and at home answering calls and emails. Their lives have been utterly consumed by work. As a result, they could disregard their families, health, or spirituality.
The helicopter parent is just another illustration of priorities that are out of proportion. The parent who keeps an eye on their child’s every move and wishes to support them in every circumstance. The demands of their child have taken precedence over their own, to the point where the child has become the center of their entire existence.
In each scenario, the individual has forgone other requirements in favor of their job or their family. And while both of these principles are admirable, they only make up a small portion of who we are as people.
Being out of balance can cause a lot of tension and dissatisfaction in a person. In some severe situations, it can also result in health issues if our stress level is too high or if we don’t get enough nutrition.
We must lead balanced lives in addition to eating a balanced diet. This implies giving each aspect of our lives the same amount of attention and resources. It’s easier said than done.
When you give up on anything for too long, you first feel a sensation of desire. If it is not dealt with, it might eventually result in tension and resentment. We require equilibrium in our life.
Here are several strategies for regaining equilibrium:
- Be sensible.
- Identify a support network
- Take control and say no(where you need to)
- Set aside time for rest.
You may manage burnout from an unbalanced existence by keeping your attention on the present. Additionally, you can learn to balance your priorities and ensure that you give each one of them enough time each day or each week.
Make time for your interests, well-being, and personal needs. This can significantly help you rebalance your priorities. Additionally crucial to your health and well-being is this. Your physical and emotional health will benefit from balanced self-care.
Self-care techniques include:
- Exercise
- Meditation
- Journaling
- Making a call to a buddy
- Nature-based activities
- visiting a counselor
- scheduling spirituality
- drinking warm tea while reading a book
- bathing in a hot tub
Apart from this, you can make your own self-care routine to lead a balanced and happy life.
