Whatever your ideal balance is, maintaining a healthy work-life balanced requires dedication, flexibility and an appropriate attitude to handle all of the situations that may come up.
And an unfortunate reality is that something is always going to come up. There will be times that your work-life balance loses sync, as one side pulls harder on you. A positive attitude is the key to building a healthy lifestyle, and it is the key to maintaining your sanity and getting your equilibrium back when things go wonky.
When things aren’t going great, here are a few things to remember:
Slow Down
Hasty actions and responses can wreak havoc on a person’s life and career. The surge of adrenaline that comes with a new situation can make it tempting to act on instinct rather than thinking out all of your options. This can be dangerous, though.
Take a few moments and contemplate your options carefully. Thinking things out doesn’t guarantee mistakes won’t be made, but it can minimize them severely.
Avoiding poor, spur-of-the-moment decisions makes it possible to create a more positive, environment where a good attitude becomes second nature to everyone around you.
Concentrate on Solutions
We all know that the more we dwell on our problems, the lower our spirits get and the grimmer the outlook becomes. Panic and anxiety can sneak up on the best of us at times when there seems to be no end to the challenges ahead.
To avoid this, concentrate on finding solutions to those problems. Rather than thinking “oh, no, not another problem,” think “okay, how can we solve this.” This solutions-based focus will keep you pushing forward through issues that arise, and help you keep a positive attitude.
I’ve found that the best way to go about this is to break down a complex issue into simpler components, which can be handled quickly and easily. This prevents the whole issue from rising up and overwhelming me.
Always Have Something Good Coming Up
Everyone needs a break from daily life on occasion. It is vital to maintaining physical and psychological health, and helps ‘reset’ the work-life balance if it veers too strongly.
This can be anything from a planned vacation, to a simple party you host at your home. The important thing is to have something to look forward to, to motivate you to keep plugging away when things get tough.
No big vacations coming up? That’s perfectly alright, as daily life presents many opportunities for these minor breaks you can look forward to: sitting down to have dinner with your family after work, your favorite team’s next game versus a heated rival or going to your kid’s soccer games are all good ways to forget about the day’s problems and reset.
Fake It Til You Make It
A good attitude is contagious. People instinctively smile when others do, making a brief moment of happiness spread as easily as a cold bug. If you are feeling upset, or stressed, simply smile and be sociable with your colleagues. It is amazing how often they will start acting happier, which will in turn rub off on you.
This is one of the oldest tricks to creating a positive environment, by projecting good will and a positive attitude, those around you will do likewise.
Conclusion
As much as we’d like to think we can keep our balance perfectly all the time, this just isn’t realistic. Like the flutes so many of you manufacture, life goes up and down and up and down.
Sometimes, things are going to look like the world is going to end, but it never does. Just like in fluting, the lowest point in a descent is followed by the first step to the next peak. This attitude can help you get through tough times and maintain a more positive, happier life.
Outside the Box 