Wheatgrass by day, Margaritas by night

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Are you a hypocrite if you party on Saturday night and go to church on Sunday?

Will a cardio kickboxing class erase a cigarette smoked with a glass of wine?

No and No, but Balanced Living could be your answer to even things out. Keeping everything in your life that makes you happy while learning how to make adjustments to reach your goals is Balanced Living and here are some examples:

Balance Environment: You’re a do-gooder who treks to the Dominican Republic for an annual Habitat for Humanity project. You are helping people while your airline is trashing the environment with CO2 emissions…uh oh. The good news is that some airlines are implementing environmental programs to help you cope with flyer’s remorse.

Anti-Aging Balance: You WANT to go to a yoga class, but you work a full-time job that isn’t just 9-5. You have a career. You have meetings to attend. Teams to build. Deadlines to meet. Networking events to attend. Family responsibilities. Dreams to fulfill. You’re not 20-something anymore when time was blowing along in perfect doughnut holes. One thing to try is a little bit of yoga into everything you do. Take a deep, Pranayama breath when you are typing, analyzing, reading, surfing, eating in front of your computer.

Balance Fitness: Yoga is all the rage, but if your joints hurt, it’s nothing but pain and you’re left cursing, “F the yoga hype!” If you don’t like the gym, take a dance class. Do whatever it takes to unflatten your butt after sitting in front of a computer all day…except for buying a pack of belly dancing classes and quitting after two sessions. Just like that TV infomercial “Learn Spanish in One Week” audio tape you ordered, impulse buys never do anyone any good (except for the salespeople).

Balance Spa: A car needs an oil change every three months. What if you visit the spa as frequently? Chances are, your car and your body will take you to all the places you want to be.

Balance Personal Growth: A break-up can be the best form of personal evolution. Author Elizabeth Gilbert shows how a brutal divorce blossomed into a 21st century exploration of Italy, India and Indonesia in New York Times bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love.

Balance Nutrition: We’ve all tried cutting carbs, or going all vegan, or all raw…but if you’re craving something, you’re body needs it. So eat that filet mignon if you have to and then go back to your vegan diet. Is it cheating? Is it hypocritical? Only if you feel it is.

Balance Health: Drink coffee Mon-Thurs, but refrain from this good bacteria killer and teeth-stainer Fri-Sun. Eat an apple instead with natural energy boosters.

Life is not about beating yourself up. Have a toolkit.

What’s your Kryptonite and how do you balance it?

Happy New You!

As we begin 2008, there is the pressure to make resolutions. According to dictionary.com, a resolution is the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure; a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy.

Unfortunately most resolutions are destine for failure because there is no real understanding of the issue at hand, just the call for action. To truly experience successful change in life you need to dig deep into the root of the issue before taking action.

By following these 4 stages of change, you will be on your way to a new you:

1. Identify what you want to change (attitude, appearance, health commitment, career, environment awareness, etc.). Many of us have come to accept the fact that we are not perfect, and quite frankly, who wants to be perfect? By clearly identifying a starting point for change, you will be better positioned to tackle the challenge.

2. Examine all of the components of your life that are in need of change to create forward movement and positivity in life (poor social skills, low confidence, increased health risks, tired of working for someone else, wasting precious resources). This will reinforce your purpose for change.

3. Explore how you envision your life to be with change (smile more, toned muscles, reduce your risk of cancer, love your job, not just the money, contribute to the sustainability of humanity). This list may become lengthy, and very quickly you may find yourself motivated to start experiencing change.

4. Finally make an implement a Plan of Action. After you have completed the first 3 stages you will have your own information and the right tools to make your change happen. There will less room for failure because you will follow what you learned rather than another plan that someone else designed.

Making things happen for yourself and visualizing what it is you really want for your life is how long term change comes about - and what better way to do that than with your own information. Not everything is based on facts and statistics. Only you know yourself.

Self discovery is one of the most uplifting and gratifying moments in life. Most of us want to be ourselves and want people to like and love us for who we are, but if we do not discover who we are and determine what we want out of life how can we expect understanding from others?

Ask yourself, what do you want for your life? How do you want your life to be? When we say Happy New You, we are welcoming you into the world of Personal Growth. There is something to be said about focusing solely on yourself. This does not mean becoming selfish or isolated from others, it is about looking deep inside yourself to find what you truly want for yourself. You will see how this exercise will permeate into other areas of your life and from this experience you will be able to give more, and more importantly, receive more.

Remember the old adages, if you want something done, do it yourself. The person who will be most effective in caring for and changing you is YOU! You are important, you are special!

Happy New You!

What do you want for yourself in the New Year?


Live Well. Achieve Balance.
Tiffany Houser
The Balance Group l BalanceBoost
http://www.balanceboost.com/
wellnessguide@balanceboost.com