Balancing act.
JuliaWe believe in doing things you love and doing them with all your heart. And while that sometimes means we find ourselves staying up late to tie up loose ends on our passion projects or pushing ourselves at the end of a Ro’ride to sweat it all out, we also know that balance is crucial. Without it, we’d fall more than we stand, and when we fell, we’d probably never get back up.So, though we certainly believe in working hard – and playing hard, of course – we also know the importance of resting hard too.Then what’s a busy bee to do when it all starts to feel like too much? Take a breath, take a step back and take it all in. We like to take store of exactly where we are and see what we need. Anything that’s not serving us? Well, we leave that behind. Because life is too short to be stressed all the time!To make sure our scales are always in balance (or at least as often as possible), we employ a few simple practices:
Accept that you’re only one you and that you can’t do everything. Even if you see others seemingly doing it all, seemingly having it all, don’t fall into the trap of measuring yourself against them. Understand that it’s ok to fail and it’s ok to do less.
Do some math. No, don’t worry, we aren’t having you do long division. We’re talking about adding and subtracting things in your life that bring you joy or bring you stress. You can cut things – or people – from your life that don’t support you but be sure to fill your life with things that add to your happiness too.
Learn to say no. Learn to love saying no! Sure, being a ‘yes man’ can be fun, but being able to say no is critical for reducing stress and maintaining balance.
Put yourself (and your needs) first. To find true balance, you must live your life with purpose. There’s no one-size-fits-all way to live; you only have to find what works for you. Obviously, you should be considerate and think of others, but, as with an oxygen mask on an airplane, you won’t be able to help anyone else if you don’t take care of yourself first.