Balanced lifestyle
A balanced lifestyle is the way in which we live and reflects that the different elements of our life are in the right amount and proportion. Adopting a balanced lifestyle is of primordial importance because it has immediate and long-term effects on our health and well-being. This is confirmed by many recent studies, which clearly show that conditions such as heart diseases, stroke, cancer, diabetes, as well as many other chronic diseases may be preventable and even reversible by changing our diet and adopting new attitudes and lifestyle.
A balanced lifestyle will have positive effects on our longevity as well. In his exceptional book, Defy Aging, Michael Brickey, PhD has reviewed and put together the conclusions of thousands of scientific studies and references about longevity. One of the important conclusions of this extensive review is this: “Researchers estimate that 30% of longevity is due to heredity and that 70% is the consequence of our beliefs, attitudes, coping skills and lifestyle”.
Adopting and maintaining a healthy and balanced lifestyle is our own responsibility. By maintaining a balanced lifestyle, we are increasing our chances of living a significantly longer, better, and happier life.
What are the important elements of a balanced lifestyle, how do they affect my health and well-being, and what can I do to improve each of them?
A balanced lifestyle is the corner stone of your well-being, and it encompasses elements such as developing and maintaining good physical health and fitness, maintaining a good level of energy and vitality, having the ability to express your creativity, enjoying emotional and psychological stability, entertaining harmonious relationships, feeling and expressing your love toward people and life, acquiring effective stress management strategies and coping skills, achieving financial stability, as well as developing a sense of purpose and meaning in life.
In order to be able to take meaningful actions and make effective changes to your lifestyle and improve your health and well-being significantly, it may be very useful to look at the different elements that define your lifestyle. This will allow you to set pertinent and reasonable goals and adopt more effective strategies specific to each element.
Lifestyle is often defined by the following six components:
These elements are all interrelated. We can say that we enjoy a truly balanced lifestyle when we are balanced with respect to all six components. Negligence or imbalance in any one of these affects all the others. The good news is that improvement in one element will also have a positive effect on all the others.
Take a look at each of these six elements. Do you feel out of balance in any of these areas? Where do you think you should bring changes into your life? What quality of life do you want? You are in charge of your own health and well-being, and only you can make the required changes to your life.
Let’s review those elements one by one and let’s see what their individual effects are on our lives and how we can improve them.
Physical activity and fitness, appropriate periods of rest and sleep, good nutrition, weight control, and transforming bad habits such as smoking into healthier habits are all elements of the foundation upon which our physical well-being is built. How do those elements affect me and how can I easily improve each of them? I want to learn more
Although the relation between mind and body has been studied for centuries, especially in Asia, science has just recently started to observe and understand this fascinating link that exists between our mind and our bodily functions. Learn from recent and amazing discoveries on how our mental state can affect our overall health, interfere with our immune system, lead to the development of chronic diseases, or influence our longevity. Learn some techniques that will help improve your overall well-being Click here to learn more.
Negative emotions and stress play an important role in many illnesses. Stress has direct effects on bodily functions. Negative emotions also have indirect effects, often leading people to smoking, developing bad eating habits, drinking too much, overworking, feeling irritable, etc. Learn how to identify the effects of your own emotions on your body and health and learn how to master a few simple exercises that could bring invaluable changes to your life. I want to learn more
Research demonstrates that engagement in positive, joyful, and supportive relationships has a clear beneficial effect on our overall health, well-being, and even longevity. How can I foster this kind of relationship within my family and circle of friends?
- the type of work you do,
- where you work,
- how many hours you work,
- how you can afford to spend your time,
- how much quality time you can afford to spend with your family,
- where you live,
- what type of leisure time you have,
and so many more aspects of our lives.
In addition, studies show that a vast majority of people do have concerns and worries about their future and financial security, which become the source of much stress. That stress, in return, will have negative effects on your health and well-being.
A spiritual perspective gives a sense of belonging and purpose in life. One may experience success in many aspects of their life, but without a sense of belonging and purpose, they will often continue to feel unsatisfied. Deep inside, they feel that something of extreme importance is still missing, but often can’t figure out what it is exactly; they feel a deep almost painful longing
What is a balanced lifestyle and why is it important?
Our lifestyle is the way we live. It is composed of a variety of elements and habits: what we eat, what we drink, our level of exercise, how well we sleep, how well we manage stress and adapt to stressful situations, our behaviour and how we interact with people, not forgetting our sense of belonging and purpose in life. It is also affected by how we think and how we see life in general; by our attitude and the choices we make when confronted with the vicissitudes of life.
Finances remain a source of much tension and stress in people's lives. For this reason, it constitutes an important element of a balanced lifestyle. Finance has an important impact on other elements of your lifestyle, as it often is the central factor when the time comes to make significant decisions such as:
for something that remains undefined; they feel that the answer is so close, and yet it seems to remain out of reach. The truth is that the answers are right there inside of you and are reachable.
A few exercises and simple actions can open a door to that reality that lies deep inside. Once unveiled, that truth shows who we truly are, where we are going, what our real talents are, what we truly love and want to be, and what our connection with the rest of humanity is. It provides us with the peace of mind we all long for and helps us find our own path through the vicissitudes of life with profound inner peace. I want to learn more
Conclusion
Who is responsible for our health and well-being? No one else is. Clearly, we are the masters of our own health and well-being. And balance is the key.
What quality of life do you choose? What can you change? These pages can help you identify the areas of your life where you can make some improvements. They also provide easy-to-follow advice and tools, offering you the opportunity to become the master of your own health and well-being through an understanding of the basic aspects of a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
- Spiritual
- Financial
- Social
- Emotional
- Mental
- Physical
