1) “Uncover your inner optimist.”
This may be difficult for some, but the bottom line is, “Optimistic women live longer and are less likely to develop heart disease, according to research by the University of Pittsburgh.” When you are able to pull out your hope in life whenever you need to, it can be a game-changer. However, this can be difficult to do. Pam Grout, who penned E-Squared: 9 Do-It-Yourself Energy Experiments That Prove Your Thoughts Create Your Reality,has some advice for doing this. “Every morning before throwing off my covers and leaping out of bed, I proclaim to the world that something unexpected, exciting, and amazingly awesome is going to happen to me today. It’s one of the most important things I do. The first few minutes of every morning pre-paves the next 24 hours with positive expectations.” When you set yourself up for a positive day, positivity will follow. Set yourself up first thing in the morning to channel your inner optimist and you will be much more successful channeling her later in the day.
2) “Back away from the sugar, slowly.”
Sugar is something that is found in so many of our foods and drinks, but it is bad for you. “In a University of Montreal study, mice who had been fed high-fat/high-sugar diets were shown to produce higher amounts of corticosterone – a stress hormone in the body.” Do everything you can to keep your stress levels down, starting with what you fuel your body with. You can’t control a lot of things in life, but one thing you can absolutely control is what you put into your body. Keep the sugar out!
3) “Take a minute to meditate.”
Pray, meditate, or even do yoga. The idea is that you are giving yourself a moment out of the day to calm your mind and find peace so that you can tackle the challenges of the day. Life coach Gabrielle Bernstein says, “Meditation, even if practiced for one minute, can have a massive effect on your mind and body… one minute is all you need to reconnect to your breath, center yourself, and zap stress.” Making time for your mind is going to make you stronger and healthier as you push through the long work week. Those few minutes you spend stressing out about all of the emails in your inbox every morning could be better spent meditating, so try that and see where it takes you.
4) Don’t forget your friends.
When you have a job and you have a family and you have duties and responsibilities – it can be difficult to keep your friendships intact. However, author and psychologist Andrea Bonior emphasizes, “Quality friendship helps reduce stress, protects against cognitive decline, helps ward off anxiety and depression, and boosts our immune system.” Don’t push your friends away when you are stressed out. This is the time in your life that you may need to rely on them the most for support and to remind you that you can still laugh and have fun in your life even when the chips are down and you feel under pressure.
5) “Do less and like yourself more.”
Work-life balance is all about prioritizing. You don’t have to do everything in life, but you do have to be committed to what you do decide to do. When you add new commitments to your life, you are adding stresses and you are taking away time that could be spent on your own happiness. Avoid this by ensuring that all of your commitments are ones you need to be committed to, by not being afraid to say no and by remembering the “life” part of the work-life balance. Don’t pass up the spa weekend with friends for work – remember to take care of yourself as well.