image flickr @liberato

Everyone on the face of the earth talks about finding balance.  Yes/No, White/Black, Ying/Yang….how do you do it?  When younger, I thought it meant taking big vacations, going to a spa and/or going dancing via the hottest nightclub, but when kids and a tightening budget didn’t allow for the extravagances, I found balance in the everyday smaller choices which, as it turns out, leads to a fuller more enjoyable life daily and lasts longer than the two week vacation I used to take.

Here are some balancing tips for your body, mind and soul.

Tips good for the Soul:

  1. I have two areas of focus in my life, family and work.  Knowing this makes daily and long term decision making easier.
  2. I say no a lot.  My priorities are always clear to me: everything I say yes to has a direct and immediate effect on my family (I will drive my kids to the bus stop in order to catch up with them vs. baking brownies for their teachers for example) or my business (I will spend extra unbudgeted time at meetings with a client vs. going to a random conference where I ‘might’ meet a future customer).
  3. On the flipside, if I commit to a yes, I will go to the ends of the earth to fulfill that yes.
  4. I believe in giving back.  By doing this unselfishly and for all of the right reasons, I have received unbelievable gifts from the efforts.  The process never ceases to amaze me.
  5. I am flexible; there are just some days I blow my daily plan because the unexpected pops up so I go with the flow knowing it’s all happening for a reason (and there usually is a reason I end up being grateful for in the long run)

Tips good for the Mind:

  1. Before I do any work in the morning, I peruse Flipboard (good for seeing the exact news sites I want all in one place) to check the international and U.S. news.
  2. I post to twitter any social media news that I find noteworthy which forces me to be up on my industry.
  3. I check email and get a grip on it before jumping into new work.
  4. I create a list of must dos so I have a basic plan for the day.
  5. If I have a big project to work on, I turn email off so I am not distracted.
  6. When checking email, I take an immediate action so it doesn’t spin out of control (delete, flag, or file it).
  7. At the end of the day, I make a list of must dos for the next morning.

Tips good for the Body:

  1. I drink a glass of water with ¼ of a lemon squeezed in before I get out of bed in the morning.
  2. I drink green tea with breakfast, black tea in the afternoon and decaf green tea at night (at a minimum).
  3. I work out 3x per week at a gym.
  4. I get 7 hours of sleep or more each day.
  5. I eat a mostly organic, non-refined sugar diet.
  6. I eat a meal or small snack every 2-3 hours.

Tips for Body, Mind and Soul Combined:

  1. I try my best to listen and hear what his not being said (helpful with kids, employees and clients).
  2. I try to take a walk outside 2x per week with my dog.  Between being out in nature and watching the joy of my dog, it’s a great way to start the day.
  3. I never lie…not even white lies!

Before I wrote this I didn’t realize I had such a long list of daily dos but it works for me.  What is one small thing you do that helps you find the ‘ommmmm’ every day?

(Image from Flickr via @liberato)

-Valorie Luther, Founder Creative Concepts, follow me @CreativeConsult