Creating and living a healthy fun-filled lifestyle takes time, energy, and an investment in your #1 asset – YOU!
We are here to experience life. Our experience is driven by our thoughts and emotions which come from only two sources — fear or love. We have only three choices in this lifetime: to give in, give up or live our life to the fullest, giving it all we’ve got!
Our body is the most amazing machine in the world, yet so many of us don’t think about our health until we are sick or broken. As sad as it sounds, some people look after their vehicles better than their bodies. Without good health and proper maintenance, happiness will elude us. It doesn’t matter how much money we have, how many toys we own or how many beautiful dresses we have hanging in our closet; without our health, we can’t enjoy any of it. All our other first world problems no longer matter when being sick becomes our #1 problem. I believe we can all live healthier lives by following certain principles that will allow us to enjoy every day and live life to the fullest.
Why does it matter?
Principles guide us, they define us and help us to live centered fulfilling lives.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It’s that simple. The 21 methods in this book can help you create the balanced life that you’ve always dreamed of having. This book can be a guide you can use by scanning through the pages and seeing where your thoughts take you OR you can start at the beginning. My suggestion to you is to choose one tip that resonates with you, one that you are not already doing in your life and commit to mastering it before beginning another.
I’ve always been proud of the fact that I’m a multi-tasker, but my way of thinking is changing. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, I am more effective at tackling my ‘to do’ list one task at a time. I prioritize and deal with each task individually. Trying this approach can help establish new discipline in your life, bringing with it all that your heart desires.
How do you do it?
Before you can start changing your life to create balance, you need to do a quick check on where you are in each area. Look at the pie chart below. Each piece of the pie represents one part of your life. Using a scale of 1-10, you are going to decide how each part of your life scores; a score of one is low on the contentment scale, and ten means that you are good to go!
Once you’ve scored each area of your life, place each number onto the pie chart (1 is the centre of the pie and 10 on the outer edge) and join the dots. Have you drawn a perfect circle? Is the circle a little off balance? If any area of your life is off a little, your chart will be out of balance. It’s tough to work on all eight aspects of your life at once. Quite often, as we begin to put the pieces together, everything else falls into place. Which aspect of your life do you believe needs the most attention? Take a moment to write it down.
“Awareness is the beginning of change” – Rhona
Now that you’ve chosen the area of your life that you want to bring balance to, here are a few ideas that will help to plan the rest of your life:
- According to Buddha, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear”. Become an observer of your thoughts and actions. Notice all the synchronicities that may be conspiring to help you achieve your potential.
- Feel gratitude for all the things that are happening in your life. Before I go to sleep every night, I think about and feel in my heart three things that I am grateful for that have made me happy during the day. Be thankful for those things that make you happy.
- Live an authentic and meaningful life. Be true to yourself and live in line with your values. Ask yourself, “What do I want in my life? What small steps can I take to move in the direction of living my life to the fullest?” And then do it.
- Take each day as it comes. What is the saying? “Yesterday was the past; tomorrow is the future, today is the present – enjoy the gift.” Begin each day with a new slate; smile, feel the love in your heart and go out and enjoy every moment of your day.
- Look after your body. Enjoy every meal, snack, chocolate, cheese, wine or beer but always remember the 80:20 rule (more information on page 20). Dance like no-one’s watching, exercise, ski, swim, go for a walk or ride your bike…just keep moving.
- Try not to change everything at once. Create significant changes by taking baby steps. You will notice that some ideas are repeated often in the upcoming chapters. Repetition is the key to bringing about positive change, and the more we repeat ideas and goals, the quicker we will reap the rewards.
About the author:
Rhona Parsons’s journey towards health and wellness began in 1996 when she became a Group Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer. She is now an internationally recognized Yoga Instructor, a highly accomplished Bender Ball Master Trainer, Pilates Instructor, author and professional speaker. She is passionate about helping and motivating others along their journey to better health and longevity. Learn more about Rhona here.
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