The first thing to understand when trying to learn how to live a balanced lifestyle is that no solution “fits all,” so forget about rules and following trends. The area of our lives where we hear “moderation is key” is most often in reference to our diet.
Sure, it’s important not to overdo indulgences because too much of something is never good for you. Yet more and more companies, like Boop Bakery, are creating treats that anyone can enjoy without feelings of guilt.
That is truly the key to living a balanced life — keep things special by enjoying them in healthier, more manageable doses.
Healthy Indulgence
At some point in our lives, we end up finishing an entire container of cookies by ourselves. While there’s nothing wrong with the occasional splurge, it’s important to realize that overdoing things, especially food, isn’t a healthy habit to indulge in. On the flip side, you can substitute your traditional cookie for a healthy alternative. These days, packaged cookies are filled with artificial preservatives and unhealthy fats. And let’s face it; few of us are going to be measuring out the flour to bake them from scratch at home.
What if you can have the best of both worlds? With brands like Boop Bakery, there are healthy cookies with zero gluten, soy, or GMO, that you can eat anytime without using much moderation and feeling no guilt. Sometimes, a balanced lifestyle means having certain areas in our lives where we can indulge without it being a detriment to our physical or mental health. Leaving healthy cookie-making up to the experts is a great way to balance your lifestyle. You made an effort to purchase a healthy cookie, and they make it easy to enjoy it.
Work-Life Balance
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic made the phrase “work-life balance” popular, most professionals struggled with this delicate circus act daily. Being a parent who works to support a family is a perfect example of the struggle to meet a healthy work-life balance in day-to-day interactions. When there’s an important meeting at work, but your child has an extracurricular activity at school, what are you supposed to do?
Luckily, some employers and companies have adjusted and are now more open-minded about working in moderation. Many allowed remote work during quarantine and saw that their employees could still be productive. In fact, in many cases, small businesses soared with this type of work model. Yet, without fail, as soon as there was a relief on COVID protocols, some employers insisted their employees return to the office. It’s an old tradition that will no doubt take some companies more time to adjust to.
Meanwhile, you don’t necessarily have to wait for your company to switch its procedures; you can look for remote work or take the time to go back to school and change careers if you feel inclined. It’s still rewarding to succeed in your profession, and it doesn’t make you a bad parent to have occasional schedule conflicts. Family time and your children will always be your priority but setting an example and achieving success in your job is a great model for your children to emulate later, too. By showing them your ability to have a balance in life, they’ll seek that out for themselves as well.
Behavior
You won’t get far in your desire to live a lifestyle in moderation if your behavior is unbalanced; this is especially true in a professional environment. While employees are often encouraged and protected to be their true selves, this should be done mindfully While it’s great to be cheerful and positive at work, you don’t want to overdo it. You also don’t want to always be the one to offer to work on holidays (nor do you want to be the one who always takes a holiday off before anyone else can).
All these balanced behaviors can benefit you in your relationships with partners and children as well. As a parent, you don’t always want to be the one who assigns the punishment, nor do you want to be the parent who never reprimands the child. Having a grasp on balancing your own behaviors and actions in social and professional situations goes a long way in achieving moderation.
Technology
There have been several proven methods to eliminating excessive technology use once working and school hours are done for the day. Most parents put limits on the usage or monitor their child’s use. Another great idea is to put all electronic devices in a box and sit down for a family meal at the dinner table. Television and music should be turned off to encourage conversation. You’ll be amazed at the conversations you are missing with your family and friends once you find a healthy balance with your technology.
Conclusion
There is no secret rule to moderation in life, and it’s not necessarily easy to accomplish. The good news, however, is that each day is a new opportunity to give it another try. Whether implementing better foods into your life through healthy cookies from places like Boop Bakery or putting away technology to embrace your relationships, we can all find ways to live a more balanced lifestyle.
