It’s hard to believe we’re enjoying the last days of summer. I noticed some leaves already turning their lovely fall shades. With school routines and the pace of life getting ever busier, one needs to remember to stay focused on what our priorities really are. It is so easy to let them slip or to let the most important be at the mercy of the most urgent.

Balance is all about making choices. The demands of life go beyond most people’s capabilities and the choice is what pressures to ignore. Determining what you’re not putting high on the to-do list. I know personally it is a constant battle to keep exercise, nutritious meals and enough sleep part of my life. I have to choose to make these things a priority.

I was talking with my husband about this subject the other day and he told me about a book he was reading called “The One Thing.” It tells how in life we are juggling our priorities like balls – some are glass, some are wood. Wooden balls can be dropped and easily recovered, but glass balls can quickly be broken if they aren’t protected. Things like spiritual well-being, relationships and health are glass balls.

I know from experience that our health is like a glass ball and we must take care of it or we’ll be using all our time trying to glue it back together.  After my stroke, choosing to make time for exercise, rest and nutrition went from seeming impossible to being the only priority that mattered.

So as you try to fit everything in your hectic schedule, make sure you treat the “glass balls” carefully and realize that as you prepare your child’s plant-strong breakfast or lunch, you’re setting them up for success by giving them the best building blocks for health.

The key to balance is to schedule time for the glass balls in your calendar first. Sometimes the wooden balls can be the most demanding, but it’s important to not let those demands become first. Choose to limit time watching TV or social media and replace it with exercise. Skip some shopping activities or even housework to spend time with your kids, even if it’s making a daily green smoothie together. Better yet, get your kids involved in health activities with you. The wooden balls may take up most of your time, but you’ll find they usually take up much less space when you choose to take care of the glass ones first.