Approximately 19 million American adult workers allow depression to limit their productivity. According to the American Medical Women's Association, this includes 5 million women, many of whom will quit or loss their jobs directly due to the depression.

Symptoms of depression include emotional elements such as restlessness or loss of pleasure, or physical elements like headaches, aches, and pains. These symptoms result in a lowered ability to work, sleep, eat, study, or enjoy pleasurable activities.

Internationally known motivational speaker, Connie Podesta, feels there is a link between depression and the blend of one's home life and work life. "One major reason for depression is the feeling of guilt in having to choose between family and work", points out Podesta. By taking control of your life, you reduce the tension from having to make excuses to your boss, friends, and family for spending excessive time from one to the other.

There are six keys to balancing your life:

==> People need a healthy, functional environment. People need a place that is safe, a place where they can go to escape the negatives of a bad day. They need a sanctuary to rebuild their spirit for the next day. Fair rules and boundaries are a key to creating this environment.

==> People need positive relationships. You must seek out positive relations and repair, constrain, or eliminate negative relationships. But it must be done right, keeping important relationships.

==> Dealing with negative experiences. We choose how to react to every situation. By dealing positively with negative life experiences, we can keep our

==> Building positive self-esteem. Thinking positively about yourself is not easy. Don't expect people to pour compliments over you. Seek ways to build your self esteem on a continue basis.

==> Making timely decisions. Too many people have a problem making either the little decisions or they struggle with big decisions. Some people have problems with both. Failure to make timely decisions affects mental and physical health, throwing life into imbalance.

==> Learning how to handle personal problems. Being able to identify the magnitude of personal problems and resolving the problems quickly and positively eliminates their impact on longer-term happiness.

Although you may have mastered one or more of these aspects already, true balance will elude you until you reach the point that you have had moderate success in all six areas.

For those that want to evaluate their current balance skills, there is a free Balance Challenge on the Internet at http://getmaximpact.com/Evaluation-balance.html. It provides some interesting aspects of how one would attain the highly coveted life-balance.

Rick Weaver is President of Max Impact, a national leadership and organization development company based in Rochester Hills, Michigan. Rick is an accomplished business executive with experience in retail, market analysis, supply chain and project management, team building, and process improvement. He has worked with hundreds of companies to improve sales, processes, and bottom-line results. MaxImpact offers leadership and organizational development services along with employee assessments and background checks. Contact Rick at 248-802-6138 or via email, rick@getmaximpact.com. MaxImpact is on the web at http://www.getmaximpact.com.

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