Finding Balance
Jan 23, 2022
Looks can be misleading.
Why do we feel pressured to always say that we’re ‘ok’?
I started the new year with a strong desire to get my shit together after such a personal tumultuous year.
Don’t get me wrong – I think many people would say that I had a great year and that I was doing just fine, but I know that inside, I was slowly falling apart. Even though I did everything I had to do, I felt like there was chaos in my mind, a disorganized mess of things my brain was working overtime to *try* to clean up.
I think that the most important thing I did last year was acknowledge how much more I need to do in order to get to the place I want to be, and part of that acknowledgement was
That I needed time to try things out and figure out what worked for me – and that this was NOT considered a waste of time because no one is born knowing.
That I needed to clearly identify what I wasn’t happy with in order to fix it.
We are now 3 weeks into the new year, and I am already feeling more at peace after taking the above 2 steps seriously since the year started.
Whereas before I only focused on my feelings (I felt like shit all the time - like if I was in a bubble and didn’t know how to get out), for the past 3 weeks, I have sat down and seriously thought about WHY I was feeling the way I was feeling.
And, I began to write things down in a notebook (I’m very old school like that - I love notebooks and books).
Writing things down helped me to break down what was bothering me and categorize all the things that were on my mind, taking up space, creating chaos in my soul. As I wrote things down, I literally felt like I was making space in my brain. I don’t know if any of you have ever felt this way, but it felt like cleaning up your room or house when you just can’t take it anymore. When you start throwing things out and putting the important things where they belong, you suddenly get this breath of fresh air that makes you wonder how the hell you were able to function with everything in disarray.
And, even though cleaning up takes soooo long (I personally hate cleaning so much), the benefits of having things in order is so worth the pain.
The skills you have to learn as you grow, mainly being organized, knowing how to identify your pain points, and maintaining a work/life balance, are essential in order to not burn out.
I learned that the hard way last year, and despite how difficult that lesson was, I’m glad that I did.
The hard part now?
Actually sticking to what you know will improve your life and efficiency because, let’s face it, we all know that eating healthy and exercising is the best thing for our health, but both those things are so hard to do.
We have to stay committed.
We have to push ourselves when we least want to follow through.
And, we have to fall in love with the process every day, trusting that the results will follow.