Maintaining a healthy life balance isn’t only important for your overall happiness and wellbeing; it can also help you be more productive in your career or lead to business success. If you’re living a balanced life, you will be able to focus your attention on your goals, take productive actions, and manifest your dream life because your focus isn’t consumed by what’s causing you imbalance.

The big question is…What does a balanced life look like? More importantly, how do we go about achieving it?

That’s going to look and be different for every single person because we all have different interests and values. That being said, there are steps you can take to change what’s NOT working.

The key thing to remember is that balance is not a final goal, but an ongoing process. Rather than trying to stay balanced, think of yourself as practicing balance, over and over again.

Here are 5 steps you can take to cultivate balance in your everyday life:

1. Spend time with yourself and become more self-aware. 

Making time for yourself is probably the hardest thing to do if you’re overworked and overwhelmed by life, but it’s so important for lowering your stress levels, increasing happiness, and fostering creativity. Also, spending time alone and learning about yourself allows you to celebrate who you are and connect to your authentic self. It takes courage to be the person you are, especially when there are pressures to live a life that you think others want you to have. If you find yourself getting stuck, meditation is a great way to find that stillness within- it meets you exactly where you’re at, with no judgment.

2. Write in a gratitude journal. 

Gratitude has to be practiced to be effective. You’ve probably heard people say “what you think you create” or “where thoughts go energy flows.” The idea is that your thoughts are powerful, and when directed in a more positive direction, a new thought pattern is created. Practicing gratitude does this by shifting your perspective and improving your mood, which creates space for more joy. Before you know it, you’ll start noticing yourself come back to life. Writing one or two things you’re grateful for each day encourages you to start actively looking for things, people, and situations you’re grateful for, which, in turn, can encourage more positive and less negativity in your life.

3. Practice self-care. 

We spend so much of our time doing things for others, which is why it’s so important to do something for yourself (and regularly, too). It doesn’t need to be costly; a glass of wine, a nice bath oil, a yummy candle, a nice Yinsa face cleanse or beautiful flowers will do the trick. Quiet time with yourself allows you to rejuvenate and refocus, which helps bring balance to your life.

4. Find what’s important to you. 

Ask yourself the tough questions: What’s important? What isn’t important? What brings you value? What doesn’t bring you value? Is your time being spent doing things that bring you happiness, or is it being blocked by other things in your life? Be honest about the aspects of your life that are not working for you. You may end up cutting things out of your life or having to let people go, and know that’s normal. You want to hold onto things (and people) that matter most to you and let go of those that only bring you down.

5. Live life at your own pace and adjust over time.

Figuring out that pace might be a little bit rough at first, but it will be worth it! Listen to yourself and do what you need to. If you want to take it easy on a weekend, do it. Splurge on that iced coffee and croissant from the cafe down the street! Do what’s necessary to keep you sane and happy. At the same time, if you’re goal-driven and want to live your life with intention, it’s ok to focus more on work than play. This may change over time as you get a new job or move to a new city or pick up a new hobby. Allow those changes to happen naturally.

Life is constantly trying to throw us off balance, and it’s up to us to get back on track when that happens. When we do find that beautiful balance, it becomes much easier to be excited to live each day, and for the opportunities that lie ahead. It’s going to take some work at first, but once you discover what works for you to cultivate balance your life, you will be more empowered than ever to live your life this way forever.