Think about when you learned to ride a bike. The training wheels were off, someone was holding on to the back giving you a little push, and then – bam – you were set free to either fly or fall. And depending on your personality, falling was either something that made you more determined to succeed, or it was something that made you want to give up. What it came down to was balance – your ability to effectively stay upright while moving forward at the same time. Any teetering to the left or right and you would be off balance, tip and crash.

In essence, learning to ride a bike mimics the way we strive for balance in our everyday lives. As we get older, life continues to get busier and busier, and we tend to get pulled in so many different directions. It’s easy to get off balance. Sometimes, it can become so frustrating that we want to give up. But finding balance, just like learning to ride a bike, takes practice. It also takes motivation and the desire to look ahead. Here are five tips on how to find your balance, so you can move forward and stay upright in your life:

Finding and keeping balance in your life is an ongoing process. Don’t focus so much on trying to stay balanced, rather focus on practicing balance. For example, yoga instructors consider yoga a “practice” – something that is a continuous work in progress, with no real end goal. You may feel balance at certain points in your life, but then something may happen to cause you to fall. That’s ok. We all fall, but as long as you keep practicing, you will achieve balance.

Balancing out your life means balancing out your priorities. Set goals, decide which are the most important and actually accomplish them. Start small by setting daily goals. What is your priority that day – does checking email or your Twitter account take priority over calling your mother? Is a visit with your friend more important than picking your child up early from daycare? Depending on the situation, each daily priority may need to be re-examined. The important thing to note is that when you decide what is important, you need to focus on it and get it done. Small goals will turn into big goals, and you will begin to feel more balanced.

Your daily priorities are your short-term goals, but life balance also needs long-term goals. Working toward something important will help you achieve the fulfillment that comes with feeling balanced. For example, if you eventually want to run a marathon, your short-term goals could be eating healthier and doing some sort of daily exercising, while your long-term goals could be running more miles each time and signing up for your first race.

When you are vague about the goals you set, then it’s difficult to actually accomplish them or know if you accomplished them – leaving you feeling unbalanced. If you say you are going to start eating healthier, for example, it’s not very specific. However, if you decide that you are going to add green, leafy vegetables to three evening meals and fruit with every breakfast, those specific goals are more gratifying when accomplished.

Sometimes, it’s easier to find balance with another person. Whether it’s a spouse, a parent, a sibling or a friend, interactive support can help with your balancing act. When you put yourself in charge of bearing all the weight, it’s impossible to achieve balance. Also, if you’re not carrying your share of the weight in life, then you will feel unbalanced. Life isn’t perfect, but when you have someone you can rely on for help, and you, in turn, can support them and draw off each other’s energy, that’s the definition of balance.

In case you need a little extra support here are some of our favorite pieces that'll bring balance into your life: