Before we get into this, I'd like you to know something: Balance is IMPOSSIBLE. Seriously, it is. And before you leave me hanging let me tell you, that is not a bad thing. That just means that we are aiming for the impossible. Do you feel the drop of the weight? Oh yeah, I feel it and love it! Now we can focus on what's achievable. I promise that by the end of this article, you will be as excited as I am right now.
You know, there is no need for you to balance everything. Balancing life is a myth. I'll tell you what you should be doing instead, but before that, let's take a look into the concept of balance. If you look for the word in the dictionary, you will find that balance is something like "an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady.". I almost laugh when I read the word 'even'. How can I possibly apply this to my life? Spoiler alert: You can't! You and I both know that that's not gonna happen. Well, and it shouldn't. You know why? Because instead of focusing on balance, you should be focusing on the following 3 things:
1. Priorities: It is not about how evenly you can distribute your attention to the different areas of your life, but how you prioritize them. What are the most important areas of your life right now? Focus on that. Even if you need to focus on just one thing, do that. Think about your values and your goals. If you have to, think about what is urgent and take your energy there. One by one, you will tackle everything. Plus, you will be amazed to see how taking action on one thing will influence the other areas of your life. For the better. You will see.
2. Grounding Practices: This is where most of us fail. We try to fix everything outside of us, but we do not set the ground for our success. A grounded person can deal with EVERYTHING! The best part is: if you are grounded, it will be 'easy-peasy' to get your priorities straight. So, whatever techniques and practices you choose to follow, make sure you stick to them religiously, it will help you in the process. Yoga, meditation, journaling and visualization are great practices for grounding, but you can ground yourself just by mindfully taking a cup of coffee or allowing yourself moments of complete silence. How about watching this episode of the Chai with Us Podcast, where I talk about the importance of Self-care and Grounding practices with my good friend Ivana from Okolo Izabells?
3.Let Go of Extreme Expectations: Do you really think you need to be and do all that? I mean, you are only human! Have big goals and dreams but do yourself a favour: allow yourself to be human. If you are truly living life, you are growing, and things will naturally go out of balance. It is only normal and human. It is something like playing 'Mikado' (see image below). Even if you are careful, you can still make the other sticks move, or even make everything fall apart. And what do we do? We start over! All because we are human. We live and we learn. We are all imperfectly perfect, so don't be so hard on yourself. Be kind, will you?
Thank you!
Namaste,
Erika
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