ACHIEVE BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE

Learning how to juggle a job and a family when there doesn't seem to be time for both is a constant struggle. A healthy balance can be achieved with the proper effort. As Tolstoy said, "One can live magnificently if one knows how to work and how to love." The secret is to strengthen your good habits and add positive ones, gradually weakening and eliminating the bad ones by displacement.

Strategies for improving your self-discipline:

Have a plan. Make it specific. Having a goal helps you measure your progress and keeps you from cheating. Vague goals, like "Today I am going to improve," is unmeasurable at the end of the day.
Build in intermediate rewards. Reward yourself along the way. Don't wait for the completion of a project. Positive behavior needs immediate reward.
Do not berate yourself for all your abandoned resolutions. Rather than kicking yourself for the shortfall, congratulate yourself that you are still striving.
Carefully track your progress. The best way to implement a plan of self-improvement is to write down your objectives, then keep record of your progress. Remember the axiom: You can't change it until you can measure it.
Build up the power habits of perseverance and self-discipline. If you are willing to change, anticipate aggravation. When you fear hardship, you miss out on the endeavors that are the source of happiness: marriage, raising children, professional stature, religious commitment, sports achievements, self-improvement.
Engage in a lifelong battle with procrastination. This is a constant challenge for even the best workers. The only way to win over procrastination is to dig in and get to the task at hand, NOW.
Beware the dangers of luxury. Cultivate psychological hardiness. Prosperity turns some people soft. In their early years they harden themselves to pain and exercise discipline. Ease and prosperity can eat away at your powers.
Cultivate a strong sense of integrity and rigorously keep your promises. Every day have some fun, make some money, and be ethical. Be able to say, "I will do exactly what I say I will do when I say I will do it. If I change my mind, I will tell you well in advance so you will not be harmed by my actions."

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