When I think of a balanced life I imagine an antique weighing scale, items filling the hanging baskets on each side. Throughout our days we take on weight, saying yes to tasks and deciding to put items into our baskets often times weighing one side down, hanging lower than the other. We think living a balanced life means freedom to do everything, be hands on in all aspects. Being limited isn’t an option so we continue to take on more even if it doesn’t align with what we feel called to do.
The Weight of the World
When I felt stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed I used to continue taking on more, adding weight into the opposite side of the scale to try to regain a sense of normalcy. I would put my head down and grind out that heavy season of life. More is always better, right? That’s what I had been told…
This way of thinking actually weighs the entire scale down, leaving us feeling drained in all areas of our lives.
Instead of restoring balance I was breaking the scale all together by carrying too much weight on my shoulders. Finally, I decided it was time to let go, to be hands off, to care less about the unimportant, and restore balance in my life the correct way.
What Does it Mean to Have Balance in Your Life?
Letting go has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to learn in my life. I was brainwashed by the notion that it was easier to control every aspect, but what I began to do was try to control every aspect of every situation in my life. Soon, I was being held down by the weight I was choosing to take on.
I realized that balance is a strong sense of contentment, joy, and fulfillment with your everyday life. It has everything to do with knowing yourself, having a strong sense of who you are and what’s important. When we’re feeling balanced it means we’re spending time on tasks that we truly value and also find challenging.
Balance is the sweet spot of life where happiness and challenge meet, where we enjoy becoming better versions of ourselves.
How Do I Balance My Life?
Taking a deep breath, analyzing my current situation, having discipline, and choosing to take unimportant items and obligations off my life’s scale was the best thing I could do and continue to keep doing.
It’s time start removing weight. To rid ourselves of the thought of more is better, thinking we should have the freedom to do everything, and adding weight to our out-of-whack scale. I would argue that living a balanced life has nothing to do with freedom and everything to do with self-understanding and discipline.
To gain balance we sometimes have to eliminate aspects of our busy lives and tip the scales back in our favor.