How well do you maintain balance in life?

Personally, I find it very difficult. My energy fluctuates a lot, my motivation is terribly inconsistent, I’m highly sensitive and often energetically overwhelmed, I’m sentimental and deeply emotional. All of this regularly throws me off kilter.

I have to be vigilant with self care to function and tend to life’s many demands. I’ve come to understand that this isn’t selfish or superfluous, but necessary for me to thrive and even survive.

These are some self care strategies for maintaining balance that are very helpful to me:

* Eat well balanced, nutritious meals. Avoid highly processed foods. Limit or eliminate alcohol.

 * Enjoy regular exercise. It doesn’t have to be a hard core workout every time. Hiking, dancing, yoga, kayaking–whatever is fun and gets the body moving is great!

*Establish a comforting morning routine. It makes a big difference to enter the day gently with self love rather than rush into it stressed and resentful. I enjoy keeping a dream journal, noting the day’s astrology, and pulling a tarot card for the day before I even get out of bed.

* Pace yourself. Ideas and projects don’t all have to be implemented at once. Focus on one or two things that are most inspiring or important right now.

* Take time off. I know this is hard for a lot of people but it’s so important to maintain proper work/life balance. This might mean taking a day (or a week or a month!) off work but it also might mean ordering take-out instead of cooking or going hiking instead of doing laundry. 

* Feel your feelings but don’t wallow in them. Allow yourself the space to experience and process your emotions. This seems to scare a lot of people because they fear getting stuck in them. But if you sincerely honor and respect your feelings (don’t judge them!) they move along. Be patient and compassionate with yourself.

* Be still and quiet. This may mean meditating, creating art, walking in the woods, or taking a bath. We live in a very noisy world that constantly bombards our senses. Being still and quiet allows the nervous system to settle.

I wish I could say I do all of these things consistently, but I’m human and lose my way sometimes. Much of this list is well established for me though, and it gets better all the time. The key is to recognize that you’re worth your own care and the rest of the world can wait.

What are your best self care strategies? Is there anything from this list that you want to implement for yourself more regularly?

With Love & Compassion,