This ezine, the focus has been on overcoming negativity and learning how to maintain a positive attitude. One factor that plays a big role in this is balance. Maintaining a good balance between your work life and home life goes a long way to keeping you happy.

The following excerpt is a sneak peek into the chapter on balance in my upcoming book, The Power of RE

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Your balance should depend on two factors: completion and enjoyment. When you understand, adopt and practice these they will have a huge impact on your life.

As humans, we are creatures of completion, as we discussed earlier. It gives us a sense of accomplishment. It builds our self-esteem and confidence. Think about your to-do lists. If you write one with ten things on it and by 11 a.m. you have seven done, I bet you feel pretty good about the day. Your completion rate is connected to your contentment with your life. However, if at the end of the day, you’ve only finished one of the ten, and then must do the other nine the next day with all your other tasks, your outlook on tomorrow is already dismal. Completion creates assurance. It creates satisfaction. In order to keep your balance on par, you need to strive for completion in all areas of your life.

The other day I had a to-do list as long as my arm. Perhaps it was too ambitious of me, but I thought that I could get it all done. Scratch that, I knew I could get it all done. However, I miscalculated the amount of time I would end up spending on all the small things that popped up throughout the day. I ended up having to go to the bank. An employee was having trouble with a project. My daughter needed me to run home and get her gym clothes. To make a long story short, I didn’t even finish a quarter of the things on my list.

Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling too satisfied with my day when I walked through the door that night. I didn’t even notice my two pups, tongues flapping, tails wagging, waiting at the door. I spent the entire evening trying to get more work done, much to the chagrin of my wife and kids who wanted to spend time with me, and then I wasn’t able to sleep because I couldn’t stop thinking about all the things I needed to do the next day.

Do you see how not being able to complete my tasks at work during the day meant that I didn’t spend the time I needed on myself and my family in the evening thus throwing my balance off? Even though I am fully aware of the importance of maintaining balance in my life, I still have to work hard at not falling into my old habits of putting work before my family.

Vice versa, sometimes it is the incomplete tasks or activities at home that affect the other areas of our life, such as not paying a bill or not making up after a fight. Completion is a fundamental part of creating and maintaining balance.

When we speak of enjoyment, you might think I’m referring to having a good time. By all means, having a good time is important to life; however, in relation to balance, that doesn’t quite hit the mark. Enjoying life means taking pride in yourself, satisfaction in what you do, happiness in your day, celebration of life events, love in your relationships and a sense of well-being.

Completion and enjoyment go hand in hand. You can have a successful day, but not enjoy it. Or you can enjoy your day, but not complete anything that will move you towards your goals. Either will leave you feeling lopsided. The pressure of living a one-sided life is why so many successful people are not as happy as they could be. Work, love and play are all intricate components of a balanced life. Without all three, you will always find your life lacking fulfillment. What’s a job well done if you don’t have someone to go home and share it with?

I wholeheartedly believe that what you look for you will find. Our brains are hardwired like that, so if you program it to seek out certain information, it will begin to look for it. We all know this is true. Think about when you first start dating someone new, all you look for is the exciting things in the relationship. At the beginning they are easy to find because everything is novel. Then, as the relationship progresses, the annoying little habits start to creep in. You know what I’m talking about, the nail chewing, the smacking at dinner, the way they leave their jacket on the floor when they walk in the door. The more you look for them, the more these little habits can transform into BIG annoying habits that have the potential to become deal breakers.

You have to choose what you want to look for based on the outcome that you want. What if your goal for every day was simply: I will complete something today and I will enjoy something? What if you woke each day and said that? What if you took that one step further and applied that statement to all the areas of your Life Balance Wheel? Would that kind of focus bring more balance into your life? Absolutely. If you do that every day, I guarantee you will have a good life. And the great part is it is easy and simple to implement.

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The Power of RE will be on sale at the end of this month, to order your copy in advance, contact Renée Eaton at info@bizxcel.com.

About The Power of RE

Is there a little voice inside you that keeps whispering that there is more in life for you? Do you feel like you aren’t meeting your full potential?

In The Power of RE, author Gary Gzik shows you how to harness the power hidden inside you to create a happier, more fulfilling life. Each chapter provides vital information for crafting a new you, such as building resilience, boosting confidence, regaining balance and reclaiming control.

This blueprint for self-realization will teach you how to reimagine your life on your own terms and become more energized and able to reach your goals through personal investments. 

This is definitely a book that will make you love the person you see in the mirror.