In the Midst of Chaos, Find { Balance }
As I sit down to write my first Blog Post in the midst of mass hysteria, many topics come to mind but none seem as pressing as the concept of Balance. Clients often ask how to find balance, with food, fitness, work, kids, money, stress, etc.?
Balance is a task like any other and requires daily habits and regular routine.
Once I've committed to something, I do it. I do not punish myself for perceived "failures", I just recommit.
"You'll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine." John C. Maxwell
This is easier said than done.
My mental, physical and emotional health are the things I hold highest in my life. To me self-care and self respect come when I do my body good.
Starting small with accessible goals is the advice I always offer. From starting a workout routine, to saving money, to eating a well balanced diet, require small changes over a long period of time until those tasks become imprinted.
Nothing I've just written is ground breaking, the "Doing" is usually the problem.
Create Deeper Goals
When I started to feel real balance in my life is when I detached superficial expectations to my goal like, "I want to lose weight", "I need to be in the gym everyday regardless of how my body feels." , "I need to sacrifice sleep to make it as a business owner and independent women." etc. My goals were to broad and in the process of generalizing I took on unhealthy habits to achieve them.
How to Break the Cycle
WE ALL have a breaking point. A moment when we realize we cannot continue living under fight or flight circumstances. For some, it happens over time, for me, it was the loss of my biological mother. A time in which I realized, a relationship I never really had was gone forever and I was never getting it back. It took a mindful decision to change my habits and I started small.
+ I created a gratitude journal
+ I set a minimum goal of "movement" {any kind} three days a week {I did yoga mostly}
+ Prioritized sleep over early morning exercise
+ Threw out my food scale
+ Started tracking my food color and H2O consumption instead of calories
I focused on these goals for months. Working and reworking the tasks until they felt like normal habits.
I have since expanded my goals, adding on personal growth reads, enjoyment, scheduling office hours for myself outside of client sessions, meal planning and prepping sessions and so on. I'm always adding goals, changing what isn't working and tweaking what needs to.
The more I stuck with my goals, the more things fell into place. My anxiety decreased, my skin cleared up, my business thrived, I enjoyed exercise again, my bank account grew and so on. I created routine for myself and within this routine, I found happiness.
Drop the Baggage
Lastly, dropping what does not serve you is vital. No matter how much you try to up level your life, if you continue to hold on to what is not serving you, change will never happen.
Simple Tip; unfollow accounts on social media that do not motivate you or mentally encourage you. See what happens over time when your fill your community with those in the same mindset.
Balance in a Chaotic World
Life at the moment is out of our control. That is the truth and often what is REAL is RARE. You have been given the opportunity to look inward, face something challenging and analyze how you have been living your life. This is the time to implement small habits, when you are quarantined from situations and triggers that can pull you away from your goals. Create a list of three things that you can do today.
+ Numerous businesses are offering FREE access to online fitness classes
+ Get in your kitchen, cook with your kids even if it's a box of Mac n' Cheese
+ Use the time you would have driven to work to meditate
+ Start that book you've been looking at but have never opened
+ Sit down and look at your finances. Get serious about your spending and saving habits
+ In the midst of adversity, find moments of gratitude
When you change your habits, you change your life. When you better your life, you better your community.
Xoxo,
Eleacia Thesing