Developing a balanced life style is a very proactive approach to managing and reducing the stress in your life. As opposed to concentrating on one or two areas of your life, a balanced life style means focusing on all aspects of your life, including you work/studies, your family and relationships, your social life, your interests, your spiritual needs and most importantly yourself. Typically, you will find the happiest people are those that have been able to achieve such a balance.

Sometimes a certain area of your life requires more attention than other areas. Examples of this include students studying for their exams or employees of a company working towards delivering a project. In such cases the attention may be required for a specific period of time in order to achieve the desired outcome. However focusing on the one area for prolonged periods of time can be detrimental to ones mental health. In the case mentioned above, prolonged periods of work with little rest or play will result in a loss of productivity and lead ultimately to burn out if not managed carefully. Another common example is mothers that are totally devoted to their family. While their compassionate efforts are extremely commendable, they too run the risk of burn out or even worse, a distinct feeling of something missing in their lives. What ever the case may be, it is important to maintain balance.

Here are some ways to help balance your life:

• Rest Take regular vacations. During stressful times, make sure you are getting enough sleep.
• Relaxation Take time out to relax and unwind. This might be as simple as watching TV or reading a book.
• Family and friends Spend time with your loved ones. After all these are the people that matter most to you.
• Interests Follow your interests or get involved in a hobby.
• Diet and Exercise Eat well and get regular exercise.
• Spiritual needs Everyone needs some form of spiritual enrichment, whether it is through religion or meditation.
• Work Working in the right job or engaging in some community related activity can be a means of personal fulfilment.

Finally, take time to regularly review and reflect on how things are going in your life. If you are finding that you never have enough time to do things, you are low on energy, you are feeling stressed or simply unhappy, ask yourself, Is what I am doing excessive? Am I starting to neglect other areas of my life?

Anything in excess is unhealthy. Moderation is the key.