NEWYEAR
GET YOUR LIFE back in balance cont .
You
When did ‘ me time ’ become something that we ’ re supposed to feel guilty about ? Sometimes there ’ s an essential need for a little selfishness , even if that involves a simple tenminute meditation , or a short walk on your own , so make sure you focus on yourself as well as others – if you ’ re run down and stretched too thinly , but everyone else is well looked after , the scales are tipping too far in the wrong direction .
The internet – particularly social media – can be addictive and can swallow up precious minutes if you let it . There have also been numerous reported cases of people getting hugely depressed because they ’ re obsessing about the apparent Pinterest-perfect lives of others in comparison to their relatively ‘ normal ’ existence . Put the laptop away and spend any free time you have with real people in real situations – it ’ s far less distracting and far more fun .
Prioritise . The importance of setting goals , deciding which are most important , and then doing the most important things first is not to be underestimated . The problem is often figuring out what it is that ’ s most important . Ask yourself on any given day , in any given moment , what is your priority ? Is checking your emails more important than calling your mother ? Is talking to your friend when you ’ ve already spoken three times that day more important than squeezing in a workout ? In order to stay in balance , it ’ s useful to reexamine your priorities often — once you decide what ’ s important , focus on it and get it done .
Most importantly , remind yourself that balance is not a final goal , but an ongoing process . Being balanced doesn ’ t mean being cool , calm and collected all of the time – it ’ s a practice and the goal is not to become great at it , but to keep practicing it . If you start feeling like you ’ re sliding too far down one end of the scale again , give yourself a break , work out where your priorities have become confused and start to redress again – the beauty of balance in life is that it can be recovered as quickly as it can start to slip .
87