What is your definition of success? Everyone might have different answers to this question, but I believe that true success comes from contributing to a cause that matters to you in a balanced way.
There are two parts here. First, you need to contribute to a cause that matters to you. Second, you need to do that in a balanced way. If you do these two things, you will have a fulfilling life.
The fact is, balance is essential to living a full life. If you take care of just a few aspects of your life and neglect the others, your life as a whole would suffer.
What should we do then? Well, here are five tips on how to live a balanced life.
1. Live With Margin
To live a balanced life, you need to live with margin. Living with margin means living below your maximum capacity. Here is an excerpt from How to Avoid Stress:
Margin is the difference between your maximum capacity and the capacity you use. Living with margin means living below your maximum capacity.
Think of your life as a bucket of water. If you fill the bucket to capacity, then even a small shock can cause the water to spill out. But if there is enough space between the surface and the top of the bucket, the water won’t spill out.
Your life is similar. If you fill your life to capacity, then even a small disturbance can stress you out. But if you live within margin, you can remain calm even when problems come.
2. Set Your Priorities
To live below your maximum capacity, you can’t do too many things. Instead, you should set your priorities and focus on a few important things.
Remember that you should set your priorities. Don’t follow the crowd. Live your own life.
3. Schedule Your Priorities
There is a quote I like from Stephen Covey:
The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule but to schedule your priorities.
I have to be honest that I’m still working on it, but I agree with the quote. Scheduling your priorities means making time for them. Accordingly, you may have to say no to other things that aren’t your priorities.
4. Build Routines
There are five aspects of life: work, health, learning, social, and spiritual. A good way to make sure that you improve all of them is by building routines in each aspect. The routines could be daily, weekly, or any other time frame. For example, you could have a daily quiet time for your spiritual aspect and monthly club meeting for your social aspect.
5. Review Your Life
The busyness of life could get you off track. That’s why you need to review your life and see how it’s going. In my case, I have found journaling helpful. It pushes me to think about my life and make the necessary adjustments.
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These tips can help you live a balanced life. That, in turn, will make your life fulfilling.
Any thoughts? Feel free to share them in the comments!
