2 Elements of a Balanced Life

Life, in many ways, is a balancing act. Constantly juggling our time between work, home, money, health, relationships, etc - we often fail to understand the importance of having balance in our lives. Creating balance involves all elements of your life -  internal and external. Your internal elements include you; your mind; your heart; your health; and your spiritual element. Your external elements are those elements which involve other people and other places. They include your work, social activities, family, and friends.

If any aspect of our life draws a disproportionate amount of energy, we have to rearrange the other elements, which can throw us off. We have to deal with the areas that are taking too much energy, and put them in perspective, align them, so that we have enough energy for all elements. The challenge is to balance what we must do, with what we enjoy doing.

A well-balanced life must start with a healthy mind and a healthy body. Without either of these things how can we expect to achieve our daily goals and aspirations? If balance is the goal for good health, imbalance is the cause of much suffering and sickness, and unfortunately it’s a place where many of us get stuck. Imbalance in your work and home life, such as spending all day and evening in front of a computer screen, can lead to stress or negative feelings. Imbalance in your body, such as too much or too little exercise, can lead to injury or illness. Imbalance on your plate, such as eating only meat or only greens, can lead to unwanted weight fluctuations, erratic levels of energy, and improper nutrition.

Here at GoMacro we believe that balance is the key to a healthy and fulfilling life, and it’s our hope that this blog will inspire and encourage you in your pursuit for balance.

Stress And Health

When people claim that they “want more balance,” what they usually mean is that they want less stress. Stress can send your head spinning - leading to anxiety about the future or fear about the present - but it’s more than just a mind game. Stress can keep you up at night, affect your appetite so you eat more or less than usual, and zap your motivation to exercise. When the burdens of stress seep into your body and mind, it’s your immune system that often takes the fall. We strongly believe that a balanced, plant-based diet is at the heart of a harmonious life.

Eating a balanced diet has the power to strengthen your immune system in order to fight against whatever stresses get thrown your way. Macrobiotics helps with stress because a nourished body and mind leads to a nourished soul.

Achieving Balance

The vision of a balanced life may look different for everyone but for a lot of us balance simply means feeling as if there’s enough time for everything, and that we can handle what we’re handed. Amelia, co-founder of GoMacro, strongly believes that to achieve balance you must first have:

A Healthy Mind:

One way to achieve balance is by recalibrating. Adjust the way you think about certain situations, adapt to life's seasons, revise your attitude towards stress. Offset periods of stress and busyness with small, quiet moments of relaxation. Reset your thoughts throughout the day and when you feel your mind veering off to the extreme, make time to adjust in the opposite direction. Simple actions such as taking a short walk, meditating, cooking, closing your eyes and taking deep breaths, are all are great ways to take a step back and re-adjust to a healthier mindset. Analyze thought patterns that perhaps result in negative behaviors in order to create health practices that will be relaxing and inspiring.

A Healthy Body:

Accomplish balance by eating a healthy diet. A healthy mind needs a healthy body, they go hand in hand. We hear about yin and yang-that everything has its complementary opposite-and that the goal is to achieve balance in our constantly changing environment. Nature provides us with the orderly cycles of the seasons, but within those calming orderly cycles there is endless variety, change, and inconsistency. Just as nature seeks to balance itself with the changing seasons and even night and day, so our bodies likewise need that balance.

While many of us tend to push a little too far, working too hard or eating too much of certain foods - especially unhealthy ones - there’s also the possibility to be out of balance in the opposite direction. Holding back is another way to be out of balance. You can become bored or stagnant if you aren’t actively working toward a goal, and you can be so limiting with your food choices that you can miss out on not only nutrition, but also the joy of having a flavorful, balanced plate.

Balance: A Way Of Living

Finding balance is a lifetime project. It’s ongoing. There is not a set goal at the end of which you will have a peaceful, calm and meaningful life. Fuel your body with vegan protein bars, adjust the way you think, take time out of your day to reset and relax, and an overall balanced life will flow in return.