If we truly want to live a balanced life, we need to practice doing less and being more. Most of us are busy doing, doing, doing and have a hard time simply being. Our societal conditioning carries a hidden message to overachieve, to perform better, and to be perfect 100% of the time. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with achieving, performing and working hard! We just need to make sure there is a balance between this and allowing ourselves BE.

What’s the price we pay for our imbalance? Stress, anxiety, depression and other related symptoms. To prevent this we can balance our doing with a calm, peaceful state of mind that leaves us open to our inner-voice and to the answers from within. It lowers our stress, anxiety or depression level.

?Your soul doesn’t care what you do for a living ? and when your life is over, neither will you. Your soul cares only about what you’re being while you’re doing whatever you’re doing.? Neale Donald Walsch, author of Conversations with God.

Make a list of your all the tasks you perform at work, home, in your community and for friends on a sheet of paper. On the other side of that paper, make a list of all the things you do just with yourself and for yourself; list the things that create peace and relaxation in your life. What’s on your list? Rest? Meditation? Listening to music? Reading a book? Walking in nature? What else?

Now compare your two lists. Are they balanced?

If not, how about scheduling a time (yes, in your calendar) to simply BE? Start today.

After you schedule your ?BE time? in your calendar, get clear about what this time will entail. Choose something simple and easy to start. Maybe just 5 minutes of quiet time a day, without your TV or cellphone. After a week do it twice a day or spend 10 minutes a day. Think of it as an appointment with yourself.

When I discover an imbalance in my life, the easiest way to change it is to listen to a Guided Meditation. It helps me to stop the chatter and quiet the mind. I have many different 15-minute Guided Meditations on my iPod that I can use whenever I need them.

Many people ask me how I am always so calm and balanced. The truth is ? I’m not! There are moments when I say to my husband: ?Thank God my clients can’t see me now?? But when I think about it, It is not about being always calm. The goal is to learn to recognize imbalance when it arises and to know the appropriate tool to use.

How do you create balance between DOING and BEING? Please share your comments and make a difference for other people’s lives.