How to Create More Balance in Your Life

Learning to juggle work, hobbies, relationships, etc, without feeling too overwhelmed and out of control.

Today marks the Equinox, the balance of light and dark, where day and night are of equal length. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it is the beginning of Autumn and time to reap the harvest of what we have been creating, ready to take us through the winter months. For those in the Southern Hemisphere it marks the beginning of the Spring, the emergence from Winter and the start of new creations. For all of us it coincides with a New Moon in Libra (the sign of balance) and a time to refine what we are taking forward into this new season.

Yet how do we create more balance when modern life can feel so overwhelming and out of control?

Choose from your priorities

As a life coach a tool I use to help with this is called the Wheel of Life. It is a way to see where your life is out of balance and where to put more of your energy. It is a great way to bring awareness to different ares of your life, such as Work, Family, Fun, Hobbies, Personal development or Home. However, if you’re comparing yourself to others and trying to be perfect it’s only going to cause more stress. The best way to use it is to notice where life is really out of balance (you probably already know) and then focus on that one area. To do this means deciding on small goals that will help you reach your bigger goal. Like going to the gym because you want to be more toned. If thats a goal start there and keep going with that for three weeks before you decide to add anything more.

Do you keep putting yourself at the bottom of the list? Make sure you are your number one priority. Yes even if you are a parent! You’re their role model so you following your dreams, taking care of yourself and having healthy boundaries is how you teach that to them.

Work with the seasons

So now it’s a new season take it as an opportunity to look at your diet, your schedule, your hopes and dreams and lifestyle choices.

If its Autumn and getting colder and darker swap salad for soup. Be sure to get sunlight whenever you can as this is essential for mood, sleep and energy. Limit blue light from screens with Flux or Iris software, blue blocking glasses and no screens 1-2 hours before bed. Notice that as the days get shorter it is natural to want to be less active, less sociable and get more rest. Its important to go with the natural cycles for optimum health and happiness.

If its Spring for you then its time to shed the Winter and begin a new routine that allows you to be more active and birth the creations you’ve been mulling over and refining. Consider a detox. Nothing extreme, unless you’re working with a professional, but a few days of fruit and vegetables and lots of water will help wake up your system. Start creating new connections, visting new places (or old favourites). Its just as important to limit screens and get out in natural daylight as any season. Balance in Spring may mean not overdoing it and coming back to your goals and priorities, rather than get distracted by every new opportunity and idea and spreading yourself too thinly.

Work with the seasons rather than against them. Modern life allows us to live a 24 hour lifestyle due to lights, screens, the internet and even shops and pubs. Theres nothing standing between you and lack of sleep, eyestrain, low mood, overeating comfort foods and overdoing the alcohol whilst socialising, except your decision to make healthier choices. Why not take this Equinox and the shift in gear to look at your daily habits? Where are they out of balance? What can you do to get yourself back on track? What one small change are you going to commit to for the next three weeks?