I’m going to start this off by being blunt & straight to the point: I have not yet found balance in my life.
I know, I know… this title was deceiving! 😉 But maybe, like me, you are looking for something to read that will help you feel more balanced and centered and less stressed about all the things life is throwing your way right now. And maybe, like me, even after reading so many things about how to achieve a perfectly balanced life, you’re still feeling like your life isn’t quite there.
After my many attempts at achieving a perfectly “balanced” life, I read something that has forever changed my outlook on this topic: that balance is never really achievable.
Say whaaat?! My mind was blown when I first read that. You’re telling me I can never find balance & I am going to feel stressed and overwhelmed and like I can’t manage it all FOREVER?!
And then, after a few minutes of seriously reflecting on this statement I had just read, I began wondering if maybe this was the truth. That maybe, just maybe, by focusing on making my life “balanced” I was actually missing out on the opportunity to create a life that felt centered but also flexible to the daily curveballs that come our way.
Today, instead of trying to balance my life all the time, I try to center my life around what is important.
I know that some weeks I am going to have a lot more homework than others. And that some weeks the workload will be light but social obligations will pack my schedule. And that sometimes I am going to need a whole lot more self-care and rest time. So when I used to try to have an equal “balance” of all the important things in my life, it was causing me more stress than good. I was spending more time trying to squeeze my life into a box than actually living it.
Once I decided to change my outlook on balance in my life, and decided to create a life that was more concerned with being centered on the important things, I began feeling a lot more at peace despite an increasingly busy schedule. I have chosen the five things that are most important to me and continue to center my life around those things, instead of focusing so hard on balancing it all. For me, my faith, family, close relationships, school/blog work, and health/personal-being are what I focus on, then everything else. Some weeks I may have a lot more schoolwork and whole lot less time for everything else, but by knowing that my faith and close relationships, for example, are important to me, I can schedule daily time for my faith and time for these people I deeply love over other things that may come my way.
Some weeks I may have more time for things outside of my main five, but no matter what I make sure that my life is centered around these things before I commit to anything else. And honestly, I often still struggle with this– especially when I have a lot of incoming from a lot of different people. It is in these moments that I am learning it is okay to disappoint people and that none of us need to justify the choices we make about how to schedule our lives. There is limited time and so many awesome options– it is all about figuring out which awesome things are important to you & then making time for them! The ratio of these things in your schedule may look different from week to week and this is so okay. I always remind myself that I don’t want to live a life that is perfectly balanced, but rather, a life that is centered around what is important & flexible to the ever changing needs of each week.
You got this! Find your five things & schedule accordingly. I promise it’ll be so worth the peace you’ll feel.
Always,
Elle