I find that everyone I coach always has an issue with finding balance in their life. I handle this in my life by writing out categories and making a pie chart. This helps me determine where I feel I’m spinning, deficient, and open to doing more of something else.

When you eat meals, for example, you don’t just have one food group over and over. Imagine if everyday you ate just eggs. How long would it take to be bored and desiring something else? It’s the same with your life—if you expand it, you’ll find the parts that make you happy and that’s got to be good. More happiness, ecstasy, and extreme joy is what you can experience when you decide what you value most and make room for more of it.

These are the categories that are important to me—Love/Relationships, Fun, Family, Finance, Fitness, Spiritual Life, and Community/Charity. You can make up categories to fit your desires. Now use a pie chart to map the portions of your life that these categories occupy right now. Do you have great things going on in these areas? Are you out of balance? Are you vibrant and fully satisfied in all these ways? What activities can you do to engage more fully?

I find that if I focus some time on each one of these on a daily basis I feel best, relaxed, taken care of, in equipoise. The whole world might still be in chaos around me, but I’ve got my way of being that allows me to just stop, enjoy, breathe, and have it all in the Now. Because I say so. It’s a powerful mind/heartset.

Here are a few questions and insights to help you think about the focal points you want to balance in your life:

1. Contribution – How can you best serve with your heart, mind, money, time and voice? Are you transforming lives including your own? What is your legacy? What difference will you make to humanity? How do you make a difference on the planet?
2. Health – What is your vision for your future self? How are you working to be fit, energetic, and flexible? What daily, consistent action are you taking to build your health? Make a list of your activities, your meals, your healthy practices. Go into the future and bring back a clear picture of yourself and the action it took to get there.
3. Relationships – How do your relationships feel? Are you making enough time to do quality things together? Are you growing? How open is your heart? How available are you to love? Fish don’t practice swimming—love is our water, and you are a natural swimmer…are you making love harder than it needs to be?
4. Family – One word: forgiveness. Get clear with every person in your family. What do you need from them? What do they need from you? Have you said everything you need to? If someone died would you be complete? Does everyone feel loved, listened to, heard, open, interested in one another?
5. Fun – Your focus is to create a life filled with fun. It’s absurd how many of us don’t have fun every day. Or we make excuses for why we can’t have it. Fun is why you want money. So dream of the sensational adventures, travel, weekly massage, toys, great homes, amazing collection of music, books, clothes, personal trainer, chef, classes. Come up with 100 happy things you want to do in the next 60 days. Do them!
6. Spiritual – Go to the places where divinity is. Re-visit the sacred places within. Practice meditation, yoga, take time for self in silence. Are you spiritual? How does God/Great Spirit play in your life?
7. Learning – What are you learning about today? What’s new? What’s fascinating? How about learning a new language? Exploring Poetry? Astronomy? Art? Science? Going onto the Internet and finding out about things you’re interested in? Expand daily.
8. Gratitude – Appreciate and celebrate daily. Especially the little things!  The more daily celebrations the better!  There is so much to be grateful for each day. Make a Gratitude Log. Every time something good goes on, write it down. If things are not going well for a period of time and you are feeling like it’s time to give up hope, you can look back and bask in the warm glow of success and happiness.
9. Volunteer - Volunteer at your favorite Charity. Life is short, but filled with infinite opportunities. Find your purpose, your legacy, your mission. It’s your time to soar!
10. Career and Finance – You become rich by doing what you love, and you deserve to be rich. Discover your purpose for wanting more money. Explore and understand the why. Commit to making money by doing what you love for the right reasons. Play the money game with love. Affirm: “I am rich in every possible way.” 

You can achieve balance. You do get to have it all, and handle it all without stress. You get to say “YES!” to what you love. You are capable of whatever you want to accomplish in a way that empowers you so you can be the giving leader you are meant to be.