Five Steps to Better Life Balance After Major Change

Major life changes like retirement, a death of a friend or family member or even a welcomed move to a new location can turn a your once smooth path into a rocky one. When things seem way off and you feel the need for a restart, here are a few ways to begin again.

1. Assess Life Categories and Create a Personal Mix List Make an assessment of where you are with meeting these needs: physical, spiritual/emotional, learning, enjoyment, and work ie. mentoring, working or volunteering. You can make your own pie chart and give a number for each from one to one hundred to gage where you are. Create your own mix list that includes your desires for each of the categories and use the list to create your personal plan for starting again. 2. Join a Community Connections are vital to well being, especially as we age, and our life situations change. Your community doesn't have to be huge. It could be as simple as taking an exercise class and getting to know a couple of people in the class. Take one step and the other steps will follow. 3. Start a New Physical Practice

Walk, swim, dance, play pickleball, ping pong, YOGA etc. - try something that's new to you.

4. Pick Up an Old Hobby

Maybe you once loved sewing, playing the piano, knitting, woodworking, etc. but, you stopped due to time or space constraints. Find a way to do it again and see if you still like it. You may need to take a class if you don't have space or tools. Check with your local Parks and Recreation Department or Community College.

5. Pay Attention to the Rhythms of Nature This could be as simple as noticing the quality of the sky at least once a day or keeping a day-to-day track of a tree in your neighborhood - what birds sit on it, how the branches or leaves changing. Or, you could go outside each morning and take a deep breath, and notice the feel of the temperature on your skin.

A connection to nature is free and always available. You don't need to go farther than outside your front door, but if you do, you will be even more rewarded. Read the benefits of the practice of spending time in nature, called Shinrin-yoku, here.