10 Steps to Living a Balanced Life

Living a more balanced life begins with nurturing your mental, emotional, spiritual health. In 10 Steps to Living a Balanced Life, discover what’s needed to feel whole and complete. Includes action steps for each step. Work on one section each week!

By Rhonda Jones

1. Eat a Plant-Based Diet

What goes into our bodies is just as important as what we do with them. In order for us to fully function while serving God, our health must be operating at its highest potential. If your car hardly has any gas, will it run properly or will it stagger, hesitate and stall? Well, the same thing applies to our bodies! Without the proper fuel, we will not function the way we were originally designed to. If you put the wrong kind of gas in your car, you will find that you have the same dysfunction, if not worse. So it is important to make sure that you are fueling your body with the right kind of fuel as well. An eating lifestyle rich in nutrient-rich, plant-based foods is the best option for your body.

A diet rich in these foods guarantees you the best nutrients and energy that your body will need on a regular basis. This type of diet is also great for your skin, digestive system, and cholesterol. There are many cases worldwide that prove that a plant-based diet can naturally eliminate most ailments and illnesses such as diabetes and even heart disease. If you are not ready to fully give up meat yet, don’t fret! For a gradual transition, try opting for smaller portions of meats that are lean, organic and farm-raised, poultry that is cage-free, and fish that is wild or low mercury. This type of eating lifestyle is highly recommended for optimal health and testimony!

Easy Action Steps:

1. Before breakfast, eat 2-cups of fresh fruit.
2. Before lunch and dinner, eat a large salad.
3. If you are a meat-eater, see if you can limit your servings this week.
4. Consider Dr. Fuhrman’s book, Eat for Health to learn more.

 
2. Give God the First Fruits of Your Day

Now that your physical body is being nourished with all the good stuff you’ll need, it’s time to nourish your spiritual body. Spending time with God and meditating on His word before starting your day is the best way to align your thoughts, renew your mind on a daily basis, and to be able to learn how to hear His gentle voice for further guidance and direction. It also helps you to clear any negative thoughts, negative attitudes, worries, concerns or stress that you may be holding on too. Giving your first fruits to Him allow you to start each day brand new with the chance to shine the light that you were given.

God desires you to talk to him more than just the times you are in trouble. He is not some big guy in the sky who views you like a little ant on a molehill. He is the Creator of everything and is omnipresent in all ways! He will always have time for you! He doesn’t see you as minuscule. Actually, you are a pretty big deal to him.  All of us are, as we are made in his image as his children. He wants us to have an up-close and intimate relationship with Him as if He were our best friend. Coming into His presence every day and being as real and raw as you need to be will give you the most reassuring internal peace that passes all understanding!

Easy Action Steps:

1. Look over your schedule and commit to a daily time to spend with God.
2. Start out with a 5-10 minute meditation.
3. Write down 3-items you are thankful for.
4. Check out my Christian Meditation Journal for step by step ideas on how to recreate a spiritual self-care morning routine that you’ll love.

3. Get Moving

So you are nourishing your physical and spiritual body the best that you can and you are feeling great! But are you frequently moving your body to maintain your nourishment? Exercise is one of the vital keys to leading a holy and healthy lifestyle. Just like a plant-based diet, exercise has the greatest potential to keep you in peak condition for serving God. It can drive out toxins of all kinds, help tone your body, give you more energy and stamina, and build up your immune system by warding off colds, flu, and other common bugs.

When people think of exercise, they tend to instantly think about the grueling hour on the treadmill or the hardcore personal trainer pushing their clients to tears. What most people usually overlook is that there are plenty of ways to get your body moving at any age! Consider these examples: a nice, brisk walk in a local park while admiring God’s beautiful handiwork, taking a nice hike up a mountain, or even simply playing Frisbee with your kids. These are great ways to keep your body in tip-top shape. If we are to shine our light and minister to the world, don’t you think we need to be able to physically stay afloat with ease for all that we are called to do?

Easy Action Steps:

1. Weather permitting; take a 15-20 minute walk around your neighborhood after coming home from work.

• Sign up for a local aerobics class that has a theme you would love to participate in (Zumba, etc.).

• Instead of taking the elevator at work, try taking the stairs. Build your endurance while challenging yourself to a few flights!

• Pull out the jump-rope and hula hoop. Have a fun fitness party with your friends or kids!

Affirmations for Today:

• I am physically strong and able.
• I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
• I am grateful for the body God has given me.
• I honor the health that I am blessed with.

4. Meditate on God’s Word and Hide it In Your Heart

You have started to give God your first fruits of the day and are experiencing the bliss that comes with having a renewed mindset upon waking every morning. Now it is time to meditate even more on God’s word while you have your quiet time with Him in the morning. When you start to really pour yourself out to Him and ask for his guidance, you will notice that sometimes he will come to you and tell you exactly what you need to know through his scriptures.

The benefits of meditating and hiding God’s Word in your heart are immense! By making this a regular practice in your life, you will be able to grow closer to God by strengthening the bond of your relationship with him. The more you grow closer to him, the more he will expose himself to you more than ever before. Another profound benefit of meditating on his Word is that he can also reveal your purpose and calling to you through it! The more you embed the scriptures into your heart and really dig in, the bigger the revelation of what he created you for in the first place! How exciting is that? By growing closer to God in this way, you will experience blessings in every aspect of your life. Taking the effort to really understand the heart of God and apply His ways to your life will unlock unlimited, mind-blowing abundance that you never deemed possible!

Easy Action Steps:

1. Upon waking up in the morning for meditation, think about the things you want to work on in your life and find a corresponding scripture that will allow God to speak to you.

• During your praying session, ask God to help you apply the scripture of the day to your life.

• Write down or type the scriptures so that you can carry them wherever you go for that day. While going throughout your day, constantly keep your mind, heart, and spirit on that scripture. God WILL show up!

          Affirmations for Today:

• I give all of my troubles, concerns, and fears to God right at this moment.
• I am creating a deeper relationship with God with each passing day.
• I am pressing towards the mark with the renewing of my mind.

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        5. What Do You Need to Heal?

Recently, I heard a prominent medical doctor on PBS (Public Broadcasting Network) who served many affluent patients. Most of her patients ate well, exercised, and had excellent medical care, yet they were still getting sick. Confused, she decided she needed more information that blood work or a lab test couldn’t provide. She reasoned that if her patients were doing everything right physically, their health problems must be coming from an entirely different source. With this new insight, she revised her intake form and she began asking more lifestyle questions. She indicated that the last question on her intake form was, “What does your body need to heal?” When answering, most patients listed items that had nothing to do with health per se (i.e., change my diet, get more exercise). Instead, they wrote statements like, “I need to put my mom in a nursing home,” “I need to separate from my spouse,” “I need to move to the beach,” “I need to quit my job.” She challenged her patients to listen to their inner wisdom and, if possible, have the courage to change. For those who did, she stated, they saw almost immediate improvements in their health. Today, take a few moments to ask yourself, “What does my body need to heal?” Then listen quietly to your inner wisdom to see what comes forth. Make a decision to make the changes necessary to cultivate health and wellness.

Easy Action Steps:

1. Grab a piece of paper and pen. Write down all of the things you are unhappy with when it comes to your life right now. Get really honest with yourself.
2. Take those things you are unhappy with and, right beside it, start writing down solutions on how you would change those things for the better. Seeing the solutions right in front of you will give you the added motivation to heal your body and spirit.
3. Need additional healing tools and guided healing meditations on a variety of topics, check out the Be Still and Know Meditation Membership.

           Affirmations for Today:

• Through Christ, I have the power to release and shift all that challenges me.
•  I am capable of listening to my inner self with the help of the Holy Spirit.
• I have the capacity to shift my spiritual mindset and heal my physical body.

6. Eliminate Negative Thoughts and Limiting Beliefs

In order to really be successful at meditating on God’s Word, hiding it in our hearts and giving him our first-fruits of our day through quiet time and devotion, it is imperative that we learn the process of changing our mentality for good. The way that the world thinks is neither aligned nor effective for what we were put here for. We need to think and act more like Him and the only way to do that is to leave our former limiting beliefs behind and press forward to what awaits us on the other side!

Contrary to popular belief, negative thoughts and limiting beliefs affect us on a level much deeper than most think. Thinking negatively has the potential to retard brain cell growth and synapses throw off our body chemistry and can create so much dis-ease and chaos in our bodies that we manifest our own sickness that comes in the forms of cancers, tumors, and other malignant illnesses. Just think about it. All of the diseases running rampant today are possibly a physical representation of our toxic thinking. When our thinking is out of whack, everything else follows suits. Try to visualize a world or society that is fully aligned and able to heal with mind body and spirit simply because they chose to be guided by the Holy Spirit in all things. Can you picture it?

Easy Action Steps:

1. When a negative or toxic thought runs through your mind, immediately shift it by counteracting it with a positive thought. Commit to yourself!

• If a certain event or circumstance doesn’t go as planned, try finding the positive silver lining in the situation instead. It doesn’t matter how bad it may be. There is always a blessing in the midst!

• When someone comes to you with negative words about yourself or someone else, start shifting the conversation to more positive topics.

          Affirmations for Today:

• I refuse to allow any negative thoughts or beliefs to enter my mind.
• I am mentally able to shift and break any toxic thought patterns.
• I am constantly striving to have the mind of God at all times.

         7. Cultivate Friendship and Support

When it comes to eliminating toxic beliefs and mindsets, it is also equally important to make sure the people you surround yourself with aren’t toxic as well. I remember seeing a quote that went a little like this: “Make sure everybody in your boat is rowing and not drilling holes when you aren’t looking.” This rings true when it comes to investing in the right friendships. Fellowship is very beneficial to your holy and healthy living walk with Christ. It’s comforting to know that you can experience this wonderful walk with like-minded individuals who are there to support and encourage you when you need it. It is even more enriching to know that you can be that same friend to them as well.

         Nurturing quality friendships help you to stay on track with your walk with Christ. Your friends are the best accountability partners you could ever have. Even Jesus knew the importance of the people he surrounded himself with based on his relationships with his disciples. How many times have you heard of the saying, “Birds of a feather flock together?” This applies to the concept of friendship. Having a circle of friends that are negative and toxic will do nothing but pull you down, no matter how strong you may think you are on your own. What you surround yourself with is what you will become. You owe it to yourself to only surround yourself with friends that will support your advancement to a higher way of thinking.

         Easy Action Steps:

1. Take a mental inventory of your closest friends. Jot down some of their attributes and ways of thinking. Does it align with God and yours?

• Keep your friendships nurtured on a regular basis by scheduling biweekly outings with your friends.

• When trying to encourage and uplift your friends, do not sugarcoat anything. Be totally open and honest with them in a loving but effective way.

      Affirmations for Today:

• I am surrounded by positive and inspiring friends.
• I am making a difference in my friend’s lives.
• I am cultivating Godly friendships.

8. Follow Your Passion

Everyone is passionate about something. Everyone has dreams of things they would love to do, even if it were just for a season. The difference arises, however, when there are people who just daydream about it and other people who actually act on it. What are you most passionate about? What is that one thing that you are always drawn to and can’t stop thinking about? Have you pushed it in the back of your mind because you think it’s impossible or even unrealistic? The people with the greatest impact on humanity started with a passion, a little spark of something they were ignited about. During the period they were born in, their passions may have been unheard of, full of skepticism or simply way ahead of their time. Others may have thought that they were crazy to have the passions they had because in their eyes it seemed outrageous. Regardless of what other people thought, these influential people followed their desire to change the world in some kind of way. They created opportunities for their society years beyond their own time. You may know these people as inventors, philosophers, painters, activists and even astronomers! God puts passions and gifts in each and every one of us to discover and serve with. You will never know where your passions may lead you if you never grow the courage to find out. Start living in passionate abundance in your life and see how God conspires to align you with your purpose!  

          Easy Action Steps:

1. What are you most passionate about? Think about the things in your life that have always lit you up when you served in that way. Write those things down and start finding avenues that will re-introduce you to those passions.
2. Is there a motivational speaker or entrepreneur that you are inspired by and follow? Do a little research on the successful people that you admire and start incorporating the attributes that helped catapult them into abundant life.

           Affirmations for Today:

• My passions are not impossible, for nothing is impossible through Christ.
• I am worthy of the gifts that God has given me to serve Him with.
• I am enthusiastic about discovering my unique gifts and talents. 

9. Be Guided by the Holy Spirit

Have you ever had inklings or an urge to help someone out and didn’t know where it came from? Do you recall moments where your “intuition” told you to take that job, take a different route back home, or even something as simple as checking your mail at the right precise time? The Holy Spirit is always guiding you in the direction that is destined for you. At times, it will even convict you when you have treated someone wrongly. Allowing the Spirit to guide us will also help prevent us from falling into traps and deceptions created by this world. Many people consistently find themselves stuck in pitfalls over and over again because they failed to listen to God, who is essentially the Holy Spirit in the central core part of our soul.   

         Being led by the Spirit is something that comes with more ease once you are able to really listen for and hear God’s voice when he answers you. When you are in need of an answer of where to go next, He is always there helping you, but all too often we cannot hear him clearly. This makes it seem as though he doesn’t hear us at all or is ignoring us, which is never the case. Tuning in to his frequency by growing closer to him in devotion helps us to really hear him loud and clear.

          Easy Action Steps:

1. Become more aware of the signs and confirmations around you and within you. God is in everything, so do not underestimate the vessel that he may come through!
2. In order to make sure you are tuned into His frequency at all times, become more consistent with your time with Him in the morning.
3. Acknowledge that it is more than just your “intuition is always right the first time”. Check-in with the Holy Spirit within you whenever you have a persistent tugging at your spirit to do something.

         Affirmations for Today:

• I am constantly seeking God’s voice.
• My steps are being ordered and guided.
• I am never ignored or forgotten. I am a child of the Most High.

10. Live in the Present Moment

All too often, we either tend to dwell too much in the past or focus entirely too much on our future. Our present is truly a gift to us. There are so many things right in front of us that will help us mend our past and get excited about our future without worry, but most times we lose sight of that. If nothing seems to be happening in our present according to our liking, it may feel like there’s no movement to what we desire to attain. God is always working behind the scenes to help us get where we need to be. There are going to be times where he simply wants us to be still just where we are. However, this doesn’t mean that we are being stagnant with no direction. It simply indicates that He wants us to pay attention to the things surrounding us that He has his hand in. He has many ways of connecting to us, whether it is through a friend, a book we just happen to pick up, or a reassuring thought that crosses your mind. Living in the present allows you to appreciate how far you really have come. It is a chance to look within and get to the core of what you need to learn in that season. It is also a time to do the things you always waited on doing. Have you always wanted to travel to another country or take an art class? What are you waiting for? Live out loud!

           Easy Actions Steps:

1. Release your anxiety. Yes, it really can be that simple! Enjoy the precious moments around you as you speak. You will be surprised at what you discover.

• Rest. Know that God is working things out in your favor and in your best interest, no matter what it looks like. Use these times as ways to build your trust and faith in Him.

             Affirmations for Today:

• I am resting in the steady arms of God.
• I am enjoying my life and seasons right where I am.
• God wants the best for me. I am confident in his Divine timing.

If you enjoyed this article and want more simple action steps to transform your life. Check out Detox Your Life and Awaken Your Inner Spirit Program. Includes over 100 daily lessons and 7-guided Christian meditations.