Now that you've retired, you have entered an entirely new phase of life, a life filled with new challenges, adventure and hopefully one that brings you complete and total satisfaction. However, if you're like most people, change isn't always easy and is sometimes stressful. This stress is completely normal but may be compounded if you don't learn how to balance all the demands on your time. With this in mind, we've developed an innovative questionnaire and article to teach you how to determine how stress affects your life and how balancing it will lead to a more healthy and balanced lifestyle. Sound interesting? Well, sit back, grab a pencil and let's access how stress is affecting your life.

Make sure that you answer these questions carefully and honestly:

1. I keep spending too much time on unappealing activities and less time doing things that I really want to do.

True

False

2.I often feel I don't have enough time for myself or for my priorities.

True

False

3.No matter what I do, I can't seem to get enough done and always feel stressed, tired, overcommitted, and/or exhausted.

True

False

4.Since retirement, I don't feel that I'm accomplishing my retirement goals.

True

False

5.I often feel guilty when I can't do the things that make me happy.

True

False

If all of your answers were “false” then you're on the right track. Congratulations, you're leading a balanced life and have a very low stress level. If you answered “true” to 1 or more questions then you can really benefit from these 5 steps which will help you more effectively balance your life:

1.Find your purpose. First and foremost, you must take some time for soul searching. During stillness, you must determine what it is that you truly value and what are your priorities. List them from 1-10. Be very specific about what is important to you and how you plan to strengthen those priorities. For instance, let's say that your first priority is to live a more purpose driven life. If so, what type of activities are you doing to help make your dreams a reality? Are you reading books or listening to purpose driven tapes? Are you attending seminars? The key here is to really hone in on what is most important.

2.Develop a workable plan. Second, now that you know what priorities are important to you, you must develop a workable plan to donate time to each one. To accomplish this, you should write them down and clarify how you can achieve each one. Decide now what steps you will take to fulfill your priorities.

3.Become committed. Third, you must become committed to your plan and realize that you can't do everything. By being committed to achieving your most important priorities first and getting them done, you'll enhance your self esteem tremendously and feel powerful.

4.Take care of yourself. Fourth, you must always factor in time to take care of yourself. By being focused on your health and developing a healthy lifestyle, you'll make sure that you have the stamina to effectively balance your priorities. Therefore, take time to access your current health situation and if necessary, make any needed changes or improvements.

5.Enjoy this time. Fifth, you must be willing to enjoy this precious time. Be grateful that you are gaining control over your retirement goals and take pleasure in being able to live a balanced life.

In conclusion, you can have a healthy and balanced life by finding your purpose, developing a workable plan, becoming committed, taking care of yourself and enjoying yourself.