A recipe for life balance

I love making chicken salad, and I have about 27 different ways I do it. Some with pecans and some with almonds, some with green onions and some with red. But regardless of which combination I choose, there are a few staple ingredients that I add to every batch. After all, if you don’t have chicken, nuts, sauce, fruit and onion, it’s not going to be chicken salad!

Life balance works the same way. As a business coach, speaker and author, I’ve been studying and writing about life balance for over a decade. And I’ve found that these five things are nonnegotiable if you want to feel balanced.

1. Rest

Feeling balanced starts with getting enough sleep. The average American gets far less than the necessary seven to nine hours every night, and the consequences of “being tired all the time” are devastating to our mental and physical health.

Being rested, on the other hand, allows you to be present, energetic and alert. You’ll be able to get more done, have space for relationships and enjoy your life. Do whatever it takes to make sleep a priority — starting tonight.

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