4 Markers of a Healthy L.I.F.E.

23 May 4 Markers of a Healthy L.I.F.E.

As I speak to people about health and balance, I am often asked a handful of related questions.  How do I achieve that?  How can I live a life of balance?  Does that mean that I must give equal time and energy to the various aspects of my life?  The simple answer is no.  I cannot invest the same time into my work as I do my church life.  Now if I am serving on staff, that will look a little different, but for most of the population, our church life is relegated to a few hours a week.  So if a balanced life doesn’t look like a balance in stasis, what does it look like?  A balanced life comes when we invest in the important areas of life.  It is finding those big and important things and pouring ourselves into those.  What should those be?

Love Your Body.

Too many times, leaders don’t invest in their physical bodies.  They simple think that to be a frivolous use of time.  I can tell you that spending that hour in the gym 3-5 times a week will pay off.  You will have more energy and be able to tackle the life that stretches out before you.  I will not worship my body, but I will spend time making sure that it is operating in a better state.  How do we do that?  It is really simple.  Move your body, eat the right things, and get some rest.  There have been so many diet plans on the market, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.  Now, that simple plan may not have you looking like a model, but it will bring you to a better place of health.

Imagine Your Possibilities.

How many hours do you spend vegging out in front of a TV, playing a video game, or tinkering in the garage?  There is a place for all of those things, but living a healthy, balanced life means that we are going to grow our mind and use the great imagination that we are created with.  A balanced life is lived by a life-time learner.  I can almost hear that parent voice saying, “Use your brain, Dan.”  Read to grow, not just escape.  Expand your mind and see where it can take you.

Free Your Faith.

We are created as spiritual beings.  We inhabit physical bodies, but the part of us that makes us individual and unique is spiritual in nature.  It is our soul.  Too many of us don’t invest in this area.  We go about doing the things we need to get done in this physical world, but forget about the spiritual realm.  Take time to pray, mediate, and focus your mind on something bigger than yourself.

Embrace Your Emotions.

Our emotions are tied into how we deal with others and ourselves.  If we can’t handle the different emotions that come in this life, we won’t find the success that we crave.  We must learn to cope with loss and grief.  We must learn to love properly.  We must deal with the feeling part of our nature.  The feeling part of us can impact our relationships for the positive and negative.  My desire is to love on as many as I can, but I can only do that if I learn to embrace joy, sadness, loss, grief, love, etc.

Balance comes in L.I.F.E. when we invest in those things that important.  Have you been strengthening the pillars of your L.I.F.E.?  If not, find a friend, pastor, or coach that can help you move from where you are to where you want to be.