21 Super Ideas to Live a Happy & Balanced Life

What does it mean to live a happy, satisfying and balanced life? It means living a life in balance, healthy, excited and feeling at the peak most of the time; which I mean always!! Ha-ha. It means making sure that your emotional, mental, physical, financial, spiritual, family, business and social needs are taken care of. Feeling and thinking Happy and Contended is the Mindset!! I have tried my best over the last many years to train my mind to conquer many of these Ideas and change my Mindset. Take a look and implement some of the following ideas to a more balanced life.

1. Sit in Silence for At Least 10 Minutes Each Day. I call it Thinking Time

Your mind has been working hard for you the whole day at work, or at home. Give it a break during the day. Taking a moment off your busy schedule not only helps you to be more productive, but it also helps your mind process what happened during the day or yesterday. Also, take a look around you and admire how beautiful the world is – it will make you happier. Smell the Roses, I say often. Pay Tribute and Gratification, for yesterday, today and tomorrow.

2. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously.

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Have a sense of humor. Humans make mistakes. No one is perfect, so give yourself permission to make mistakes. Making mistakes might make you look bad in front of others, but it also makes you human too. Others will relate to that, so laugh it off instead. Just don’t sweat the small stuff!! It’s just not worth it. Let things happen; do the very best you can do to shape the things under your control. Don’t fret on the uncontrollable items. I believe that “All things happen for a reason”-good or bad. It's the dynamic of a balanced life.

3. Smile and Laugh More.

My middle name was changed to (Smile) 40 years back… I am still smiling! And I love it! I am often called Mr. Smiles or Mr. Enthusiasm. Endorphins are released when you smile. They make you feel happier and less stressed. Laughing helps you release emotions that have been bottling up inside. When you smile and laugh, you will attract other positive people to smile and laugh with you. That will help you to bond with other people easier and make you feel even better. People more gravitate towards smiling people and they smile back. This one habit is so contagious; it brings great energy into the environment, things start to look brighter and conversations take a new perspective. Smiles don’t cost anything but you deposit huge happiness and positive energy unto people around you.

It’s said, Smiles can move mountains, so they can definitely lead you towards a more balanced life. It brings less stress in the conversations. It’s a wonderful habit, to say the least. Just keep on SMILING for a more balanced life!!

4. Try to Make At Least Five People Smile Each Day.

Real happiness comes from helping others and showing kindness. If we emit positive energy daily amongst our contacts; more positive energy will be returned to us. I truly believe in that. When you make other people smile, you make yourself smile. Plus, would you rather surround yourself with happy people or grumpy people? Surrounding yourself with happy people makes you feel good, so start making people around you smile. Give generously. Make somebody's day unexpectedly and you can build a balanced life from there.

5. Dream More While You Are Awake. But Write down Goals with deadlines.

Dreaming gives you inspirations and it’s a component of a balanced life. All the things we enjoy now, such as electricity and airplane flights, are a result of someone else’s dreams. Don’t forget the “Internet”; good or bad. Someone has to conjure up an idea before the idea can be executed. Since most people don’t remember the dreams they had when they are asleep, why not dream during the day when you are waking? Success is a journey; write down short-term and long-term goals with deadlines. Read Goals daily, post them on the bathroom mirror and in the car. Give regular feedback and change course if needed to achieve Victory!!

6. No One Is in Charge of Your Happiness Except You.

You are 100% responsible for your life. If you are unhappy, it’s up to you to do something about it. You see, we are the CEO’s of our Life. We direct us daily to be productive or non-productive; to feel good or bad, to laugh or cry, to do good things or not be involved in; We think, feel and act according to beliefs of CEO of our life and we meet that person every morning in the mirror! Don’t wait for other people to make you happy. Other people might not know what makes you happy or how to make you happy. More importantly, you can’t control other people’s behaviors. You can only control yours, so take charge of your happiness. We have heard the 90/10 Principle. 10% of life is made up of what happens to us; 90% of a balanced life is decided by how we react. Happiness should never be a Goal to reach in the future; but be content with what and where we are at present; Live and Enjoy the situation and things around us! Be happy NOW! If we are not happy with what we have now, we won’t be happy later when we may have more of what we are trying to get. So, let’s live in the present.

7. Spend Precious Time with Your Family Often.

Family is important. Immediate family activities are essential for a balanced life. You can always count on your family during good and bad times. Even though you may be busy and have a very different focus in life from your family, call them regularly and find out how they are doing. A call to your mom and dad means a lot to them. Travels and special moments we spend with family are remarkable and bring love and great value.

8. No Matter How You Feel, Get Up, Dress Up, and Show Up.

Woody Allen said, “Showing up is 80 percent of life.” When you make a commitment to yourself or a New Year resolution, show up and do what you promise to do. There will always be times when you don’t feel like doing what you promise. However, if you don’t show up, nothing you desire will get done.

9. Take 20-30 Minutes to Brisk Walk or Jog Every Day.

If you sit in front of the computer most of your waking hours, try to schedule 20 – 30 minutes each day to move your body. The key to a balanced life is action. Brisk Walking, Jogging is a good exercise. It helps you to strengthen your muscles and improve your cardio. Plus, it helps your mind too. Exercise boosts your confidence, helps you concentrate, and relaxes your body tensions.

10. Make Time to Practice Meditation, Yoga, and Prayer.

For a balanced life, meditation, yoga, and prayer can help calm your mind and deal with anxiety. It can help you get centered and listen to your inner voice with better clarity. Sometimes, you get too busy and forget to breathe. Practicing these activities will focus your breathing and help you relax the body and the mind.

11. Formulate Systems to multiply yourself.

Delegate the not so popular jobs to others. Systems make life systematic and fun. A lot more gets accomplished daily. Living daily to the fullest is the peak performance of a balanced life.

12. Your Job Won’t Take Care of You When You Are Sick. Your Friends Will.

Good friends are always there to support you and lift you up. They provide different perspectives to your life. Staying in touch with your old friends reminds you of where you came from. It’s difficult to keep up with everybody’s life, but schedule a time and plan something to catch up with your old buddies. It’s rewarding to listen to their stories and this contributes to a balanced life.

13. You Don’t Have to Win Every Argument.

Most bad relationships are a result of arguments. Why do you have to win every argument? Winning an argument doesn’t make you or the other party happier. There is usually no right or wrong, just a difference in perception. Looking at the other person’s point of view and understanding where they are coming from doesn’t mean that you have to agree with them. It’s more important to show the other party that their view is valued. And that brings Respect and Calmness!

14. Forget Issues of the Past. Past is Ashes.

Learn from mistakes; call it Education but We Must Live in the Present. In business and personal life; we face situations that bring us back to the past, bring the mistakes in our minds, lost opportunities or lost money!! These get us unfocused and depressed about them. Make us non-productive, stressed, bad feelings and negatively charged energy. We should try our best to learn from the past and close those bad chapters; the sooner and most effective we are in this endeavor the Happier we will be and be using our present Positive Energy to make the Present the best we can and Feel Best!!! When couples argue, they like to bring issues of the past into their argument, making the argument worse. Learn to let go issues of the past go. It’s not fair to judge your partner with the mistakes they hi made in the past. Both of you should focus on the current situation or problem, and come up with a solution to resolve it. We must LIVE in the Present moment. The “Present” is a Gift from the Supreme, we must open this gift and make the best of it and enjoy its outcome. There is always a silver lining to the cloud; we may have faced a very bad situation or result in 30 minutes back; maybe even 30 seconds back. But Nothing can be undone!! If we can program our mind to “Bounce Back” from the negative thinking and energy; we will feel and act much smarter, poised and with making better decisions at the present moment and shape the future rightly. I totally believe in the “Laws of Attraction”. What we think and concentrate on, we get more of that. This law is in effect all the time whether we believe in it or not.

15. Spend Time with People Over the Age of 70 and Under the Age of 7.

These two groups of people have different perspectives towards life. People over the age of 70 have a lot of experience and wisdom. Ask them to share what they have learned so that you can apply these important lessons to your life. People under the age of 7 are innocent and happy. They don’t hang on to grudges. Learn how they let go of their emotions so quickly and you’ll be happier. It’s a great feeling that you made them feel special and gained their love and wisdom.

16. What Other People Think of You Is None of Your Business.

You can’t control what other people think about you. Your business is what you think of yourself. You can work on how you think about yourself. If people think negatively about you, but you have a strong self-worth, you won’t get affected. However, if you don’t think highly about yourself, no matter how other people praise you, you will still feel that you aren’t good enough. Remember, you are a masterpiece!! God made each of us to bring and do the best in short precious life on this earth.

17. Don’t Waste Your Precious Energy on Gossip. Or watching Bad TV

Your energy is better spent on yourself. Why waste your energy listening to things about other people that may not be true? Gossip doesn’t add value to your life. If you want to satisfy your curiosity, use your energy to learn and improve yourself instead. Read books and listen to inspirational talks or podcasts. I am totally hooked on to listening to some great Podcasts and researching great topics in YouTube & Google. The negative news and energy is all around us. Just shield yourself from all these drainers; concentrate on yourself to get better each and every day and make this precious life – A Super Life.

18. Life Is Too Short to Waste Time Hating Anyone. Forgive or apologize and move on…

You can spend the rest of your life hating someone, but that doesn’t mean that person will change. In fact, the other person may not even know that you hate them or realize that they have done something wrong. This is a no win situation. Get rid of those ill feelings towards them. Pardon them to relieve your stress and commotion. Learn how to forgive. It will give you so much more freedom and positive energy along with calmness in your thinking and wellbeing. Our Stresses will grow faster, so we will be doing a favor to ourselves by practicing “Forgiveness”.

19. Sleep for 7-8 Hours a Day.

Getting adequate sleep gives you energy and attention for the next day. Sleeping helps to repair the damage you have done on your body during the day. It also enhances the consolidation of your memory. Be certain to get enough sleep and make sure your sleep is uninterrupted. Well with age this number does reduce I have found. But giving body small power naps is also a strong way to keep our machinery work at optimum level.

20. Drink Plenty of Water. And Exercise Daily.

Water keeps you hydrated. It is essential for the circulation of nutrients in the body. It also helps to flush out toxins, waste, and bacteria through sweat and urine. When muscle cells don’t have adequate fluids, they don’t work as well and performance can suffer. Furthermore, drinking water makes you feel refreshed and improves your moods.Therefore, it’s extremely important to drink at least 2 liters of water per day. Adding lemon and honey to warm water in the morning brings excellent results in our body. We must exercise and see the difference in our activities and attitude. It’s an accomplishment that fuels positive energy in us and keeps us healthy to enjoy the fruits of hard work and labor in later years in life.

21. Read More Books- Listen to Great Podcasts/Audio Books than You Did Last Month

Most people read for two main reasons – pleasure or knowledge. Knowing your purpose for reading helps you read more books. It will help you select books you are attracted to read and eliminate books that you don’t need to read. I have always been fascinated with the Informational and Knowledge-based books much more than the fiction or novel; there is room for those, but we should try to get some very important lessons from every read we can apply to our lives to get better and better. Reading books also help you reduce stress. You either lose yourself in great stories or find solutions to your problems in books. As Jim Rohn said, you’re Average of the 5 people you spend the most time with and the 5 books you are reading. Our Thinking and Beliefs are so much shaped by them.