Achieving A Glorious Sense of Balance (It’s Possible!)

It all began over month ago after spending three glorious weeks on vacation down south. I popped open my computer, looked at my to-do list, schedule, and thought, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” No clients, writing, reading, getting the word out. I’m done. And then I thought, “I don’t want to do this anymore?!?!”  I LOVE my clients! Love and fiercely believe in the power of nutrition and fitness to transform lives. I know that vibrant women change the world. What’s the dealy-o, yo? After some serious soul searching, struggling, and a bit of trial-and-error, I realized that the answer was surprisingly simple:

Sedentary + Isolation = Serious Problem

  I work mostly from home, am isolated several hours a day, and am moderately sedentary. If you have a desk job or are a stay-at-home mom, I’m sure you can relate. Sure, I train for my next strongwoman competition about 6 hours a week, but other than the occasional walk, much of my day is spent inside, at a desk or in the car, and my longest trek is from my room to the kitchen.

My usual response to this insight is to immediately do everything active possible, more bike riding, more walks, more classes, more friends, more...

But that’s the old me. [Do you notice the energy of the above paragraph? Read it again. Are you anxious or calm? Wound up tight or open and free?]  The new Gerilyn is achieving a glorious sense of balance in her life that supports her endeavors without becoming a burden. I’m loving it. This means a balanced schedule with a healthy amount of socializing, movement, alone time, dancing, husband time, and work.

I’ve learned some simple, yet profound things about myself, like:

The more I move, the better I feel. Daily interacting with a variety of people, in-person, is important. The way I nourish my body is the way I treat everyone else. Touching, preparing, and handling food is my therapy. Processing, journaling, and sharing is vital to my continual growth. The small, daily moments with Clint matter more than big trips infrequently.   These were all things I neglected while hustling to grow my business and do all thing things I thought I "should" do to be successful. As a result, the fun was being sucked out of me and I equated work with struggle, difficulty, and drudgery. What's that thing for you that causes you to neglect everything else - your career? Your kids? Your schedule?  When I began adding these things back into my life, my entire perspective changed. I am excited about the future. I LOVE to train (even though it takes ~12 hours out of my week, including driving). Cooking isn't draining. And getting out and about enlivens me. 

I wasn't crazy, depressed, or missing my calling in life, I was just missing life.

 

I believe balance is possible, wether your are single or married, kids or not. (Pssssttt... balance is another thing I used to be cynical about. If you find yourself reacting negatively to this article, GOOD, there's hope. Read here.) But, for women especially, I believe it’s important to let go of preconceived notions of what balance is, and open up to a more fluid, feminine, circular definition of balance. Balance isn’t having equal parts of family, work, friends, social activities, kids, etc. in our lives.

Balance is about progressing without neglecting what nourishes us {click here to tweet this}.

This kind of balance circulates through cycles that emphasize one important part - like, kids, for example - without erasing other important activities and values. It is sometimes surprising how delicious, important, and vital small things really are. And I love that I still go through this balance issue because it’s exactly what I’ll be teaching at my upcoming workshop on October 1st, “Fit & Financially Fierce: How to Feel Strong & In-Control of Your Body & Finances.” I’ve been there and I still go through it, so I cannot wait to share what works well for me so you don’t have to struggle so much. Like how I continually progress in my fitness goals, eat home-cooked nutritious meals 90% of the time, hustle to get my business off the ground, make new friends in a new city, deepen my relationship with Clint, and maintain my sanity... I've spent a large part of my life pretending like everything is ah-mAY-zing and like I have it altogether, when the truth is that I felt out of control, hanging on by a thread, and no way out. We women get really great at those masks, huh?  That's why this is so fun, because feeling in control of our lives and their directions is so empowering. And it begins with balance. If you're in the Boston-area, do join us for an evening of sisterhood and sharing. Click here to register for you and a friend now.  

In the comments below, share your one thing that usually consumes your life and throws you off balance AND I want to know what you think about a more fluid, feminine definition of balance. I can't wait to read them!

  LIVE your adventure,       P.S. Balance is a BIG struggle for so many women. Most of the ladies I've talked to over the past few months have big dreams, but no follow-through, which comes from a lack of healthy balance in their lives. This will look different for everyone, so it's important to be gentle with yourself. BIG hugs from me!