Friday, November 17, 2017

4 strategies for maintaining balance in your life

I will be the first to admit that living a perfectly balanced life is not something I do well (or ever? But then, does anyone?) But I don't like waking up in the morning stressed before I get out of bed because I'm doing too much of one thing and not enough of another ... and I really don't like not knowing how to fix it. Below I've included a few strategies that I try to use when I feel like I'm living an off-balance life - usually, running down the list of these helps me even everything out again!




1. Manage your input and output
 
One of the main things that causes me to feel stressed or unbalanced is if I'm spending too much time either absorbing energy through inward activities, like studying, or pouring energy into outward activities, like public speaking. (In the years when I did NaNoWriMo, my output would go through the charts because I was writing.all.the.time.) The best way to get back to feeling balanced is to take a break and choose something from the other category ... if you're writing all day, every day, take a break and scroll through Pinterest! Read a book! Listen to someone talk about their day! Do anything and everything you can to put more info into your brain so you can turn around and pour it all out again.
On the flip side, if you've spent the last week studying and reading textbooks and watching tv in the evening hours, your brain is probably overflowing! Go write a journal entry, or tell someone about what you're learning, or draw some gorgeous art - anything to siphon the extra stuff out of your head so you can keep right on learning.


2. Go visit a human person

Go walking, or drink hot chocolate in a new coffee shop, or take a drive to a nearby small town! Take an afternoon off and invest in your relationship with someone else - hear about their life, and vent a little bit about yours. This could be anyone - a family member, a friend - it doesn't have to be outside your comfort zone! I find that just spending a little time with people goes a long way to straightening out the things that feel "off" in my life.


3. Make a list of things you love and do one thing every day

 For me, writing hit the top of the list - a few months ago, I was working and sleeping and studying for exams, and that's it. I felt worn out, and like I was missing something key because I wasn't allowing myself to carve out time to write, or blog, or even journal. Don't do that to yourself. When you find out what you love, make time for it. Or, if you love a lot of things, make a list! Do a couple of them! Don't let the pressures of school or work crowd out the essence of who you really are and what you love to do.


4. Remind yourself to aim for excellence, not perfection

**This particular piece of advice is courtesy of my mum
Aiming for perfection is one of the fastest ways to throw my life out of balance -  I end up pushing and pushing and pushing for a goal that is not only out of reach, but unnecessary. Striving for the standard of excellence means expecting great things - hard things - but it also means that there is such a thing as enough. Occasionally, it's not such a bad thing to just stop. And be done. And let it be what it will be, and call it good enough. I'm not advocating for half-finished projects, or 50% effort ... just arguing against the mentality that we have to spend forever fighting for a standard that we're never going to reach. Don't get stuck there! There are so many other places to explore.


Okay, rant over. I fight hard for balance, mostly because I so often find myself without any!! What about you? Do you ever get get "stuck" aiming for perfection? Lost in a broken cycle of input/output? Caught not allowing yourself to do what you love? How do you get unstuck, break the cycle, and go back to embracing what you were made for? I'd love more tips!!

xx,
Olivia 

ps. why yes this is yet another post to be illustrated with pictures from Iceland!! Definitely because I love Iceland and not because I have no other pictures at the moment ... ahem.

10 comments:

  1. I loved this post! Super helpful reminders about how to live life and make the most of it. I have just figured out what you have mentioned in your third tip. Doing something I like doing instead of homework all the time helps so much. I am glad that you posted this <3

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    1. Vanessa, I'm so glad you could relate! I've only just started carving out time for myself, too, and it's making such a big difference!

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  2. This is SUCH great advice! I need to keep this list, because I feel like I struggle with this ALL the time. Thanks for the tips, Olivia! <3

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    1. Grace Anne, I need to keep this list so close too! I'm constantly struggling with balance and I feel like I'm just starting to grasp the importance of figuring it out!

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  3. Such a great post. I can safely say yes to everything. Yes, perfectionism. Yes, what's balance? Yes, gotta work before play.

    Waking up already stressed is the worst. I even was having dreams of being stressed before I woke up :/


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    1. ME TOO, MEAGHAN! Yes to everything in this comment. Also, I'm sorry about your stressed dreams! Those are the absolute pits :(

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  4. First of all, you are adorable and these Iceland photos are awesome! And I definitely struggle with perfectionism in creative projects and just in life in general. The advice from your mom reminds me of something my dad always says - basically, that a 90% is still an "A." Sometimes I get 90%'s in life - I give 90% effort, or sometimes I get a B. I think the key is balance. We can't be perfect all the time or succeed always, forever, in all things. Knowing that I am limited is hard to accept sometimes, but being grateful and thankful for where I am helps. Great post! :)

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    1. UGH, perfectionism ... me too girl. I'm trying, trying, trying to let go of the need to be perfect. It's hard, but it's SO FREEING. And the freedom is sweet. :)

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  5. Wow, that output/input idea makes a lot of sense. I've never thought of it like that before - I think it's going to be really helpful to me. The rest of the tips are good too - and of course, I don't think I'm going to get sick of Iceland photos anytime soon, so use them as long as you need to. :) Thanks for the post! xx

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    1. Hey, Jessica! I'm so glad! Putting it into words is something that helped me a lot when I was writing... knowing when it was time to step back and take a break was life-giving! Thanks for commenting, friend!

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