Keeping Life in Balance

I just read a conference talk from 1987 that was about this. It was by M. Russell Ballard and was amazing! It is funny to me that 23 years ago they were saying the same things they are saying now! Goes to show how consistent and true the church really is! You can find the talk here. This talk really helped me out this past week or so and continues to help me out now. He talks about 8 things that help you keep things and life in balance. So here are the summarized points and maybe it will help your week out like it helped me!

1. Think about your life and set your priorities. Find quiet time and think about the things that need to be done and make a list.
2. Set short term goals that you can reach. Set them so that there aren't too many or too few. But make sure that they aren't all too high or too low! Write them down according to there importance.
3. Wise Budgeting. Go through your life and how you live and determine your real needs and measure carefully against the wants. One thing I thought interesting is that Elder Ballard said THERE ARE NO GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES THAT WORK!! He said that in 1987 and now that is all you see and hear about! He speaks truth!
4. Keeping close to your spouse, children, family and friends will keep life in balance. Use good communication!
5. Study the scriptures. "They offer one of the best sources we have to keep in touch with the Spirit of the Lord". Make daily scripture study a habit.
6. Make time for sufficient rest, exercise, and relaxation. We have to do these things is we want to enjoy a healthy and balanced life.
7. Teach one another the gospel, like in a weekly Family Home Evening.
8. Pray often as individuals and as families.

Here is a direct quote from the talk that I absolutely loved! It rings true even today and is a great way to look at things!:

"Often the lack of clear direction and goals can waste away our time and energy and contribute to imbalance in our lives. A life that gets out of balance is much like a car tire that is out of balance. It will make the operation of the car rough and unsafe. Tires in perfect balance can give a smooth and comfortable ride. So it is with life. The ride through mortality can be smoother for us when we strive to stay in balance. Our main goal should be to seek “immortality and eternal life” (Moses 1:39). With this as our goal, why not eliminate from our lives the things that clamor for and consume our thoughts, feelings, and energies without contributing to our reaching that goal?"