My department head at work asked everyone what each of us does for balance. I shared some things I do which inspired me to write this post. Over the years, I have figured out what I need to do to keep balance. Full time job and parenting can sometimes get overwhelming. I came up with a system for myself to keep me going. I want to share with some of you here hoping some of it resonates with you.
My system is mainly broken down to three areas: Training the mind, training the body and fueling my soul!
To keep a balance with everything that’s happening in work and your personal life, I found that it is extremely valuable when we train ourselves on how to process everything. Respond instead of reacting. Accept that change is a constant in life. Focusing on the now than the past or the future. All of this had me turn to Training the Mind. In other words, meditation. I started with Headspace app since it was very relatable with real life examples. The blue sky analogy of viewing thoughts as clouds and that some days the clouds are too many and other days few is something I regularly come back to. Starting the day with 15 minutes of meditation keeps me going for a long time. I like that there are different themes I can focus on like compassion, focus, reducing stress, etc. I am glad that it’s finally become part of my routine.
The next is Training the Body. We have all read about the benefits of exercise. Luckily exercise for me is fun and I enjoy putting effort into something and seeing results. Up until recently I had done this a few times a week and mostly on days I feel less stressed. Even though exercise is supposed to reduce stress! In the pandemic I challenged myself to changing my attitude towards working out. My goal now is to exercise every day for 30 minutes. Some days it’s High intensity, some days it’s running and other days it’s strength training. It’s the variety that keeps it interesting. Since I am an early riser it helps to get this box checked first thing in the morning. 30 minutes of sweating it out leaves me feeling energized for the whole day!
I found that in addition to meditation and exercise I also need other things to keep me inspired. I call this Fueling my Soul. There are days you need an extra pick me up and this is when this area really helps! This for me comes from a variety of sources. I use Good reads app to track all the books I want to read and am currently reading. The topics range from spiritual awareness, autobiographies, leadership and many more. All of which are intended to inspire and push to be a better version of yourself. Listening to interviews of inspiring leaders also fall into this category. Some days this is usually achieved by calling an old friend!
There are days when you need more than your daily routine to keep things going. Sometimes this is a therapist, life coach or a personal trainer depending on the need at the time. Finding what works for you is like trial and error. When you find your own system it’s your secret weapon you can use to navigate life. Do you have a system? Hope you can share your wisdom so we can learn from each other.