Two Daily Questions to Ask Yourself to Live a More Balanced Life

One of the great challenges for DaVincis — creative people juggling several projects, talents and ideas — is to live a well- balanced life.  If only we could balance the creative and the practical, the personal and the professional, the urgent and the important.  If only we could do all that is on our personal and professional ‘to do’ lists while simultaneously attending to our health, nurturing our important relationships  and taking good care of our responsibilities.

It’s unlikely that we’ll achieve perfect balance in every area of life on every day of our lives . . . yet we certainly can take steps to live a more balanced life.  As discussed in a previous article, we can set aside time to examine our lives and then commit to giving more attention to those aspects of life that are currently getting short shrift.

We can also make some small adjustments on a daily basis, simply by asking ourselves two key questions every morning:

Daily Question #1.  What’s one thing I can do today that would make me feel terrific?

Be candid with yourself.  Allow your internal self will tell you what you need most — whatever you’re yearning for deep down.  It might be to accomplish something that’s been weighing on your mind — to cross something specific off your ‘to do’ lists.  Then again, your inner self might be craving a walk.  Or a nap.  Or tea with a friend.  It could be that the kitchen needs attention.  Or your spouse.  Or your finances.

The phrasing of this question is key.  You’re not asking ‘What should I do today?’ or “What do I have to do today?’ or ‘What’s my priority today?’.  You’re asking yourself what would raise your spirits.  And that’s the purpose of this:  simply to feel better.  When you feel better about your life, you’ll be better equipped to deal with everything on your plate — with less stress and more contentment.

Here’s the great part:  there’s no one right answer.  Whatever springs to mind on a particular morning is perfect.

Daily question #2:  If I had an uninterrupted thirty minutes today to spend on anything I wish, how would I spend it?

This may spark a similar answer to Question #1 — or it might trigger a completely different answer.  The first question evokes a gut response while the second evokes action. Today, for example, when I asked myself the two questions, my answer to the first was “spend some time outside” while my answer to the second was “filing”.  My inner self was craving Vitamin D, while my inner neatnik was wanting to restore order to my desk.  By asking the two questions, I was able to identify two different, entirely doable activities — both of which amounted to small adjustments in my life balance.

Why thirty minutes?  It’s enough time to accomplish something — yet small enough to fit into any day.  Yes, you are worth thirty minutes a day.  (You’re actually worth more, but let’s use ‘thirty’ as a starting point).

Try this:  ask yourself the two questions every day this week.  Experience the impact that small daily adjustments can have on your life balance.

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