We are back in the craziness of life with the boys back in school and soccer, Scott working on his doctorate and his university responsibilities, and me working toward my goal of Regional Vice President and earning my white mercedes with Arbonne plus trying to keep the house in order, etc. It's a little hectic at times, but I'm soaking it all in and enjoying life!!
With all the busyness of life, I've found that the only way to keep from feeling so overwhelmed is by trying to find a sense of balance in the midst of it. I shared several weeks back about how I'm working on being more organized and, believe it or not, so far I'm doing good with it! I'm still working on getting things in order, but it's happening and has definitely helped me to not feel so overwhelmed. My problem now is that, although I'm more organized, I still don't have a great sense of balance or feel like I'm accomplishing everything I'd like to each day. I'm great at putting things off and then being mad at myself for not doing them:)
Balance and time management are hard for me. My husband is great at balancing everything and not getting overwhelmed. He's one of those list makers who crosses things off as he does them....gag!!:) He's always telling me, "if you'd just make a list then..." or "if you'd just schedule out your week then..."....bla, bla, bla:) Honestly, I've tried being a list maker and I've tried to schedule out my week, but somehow I never seem to stick with it.
I used to be a gymnast many years ago. As a gymnast, balance was so important, especially on the beam. If you've never been on a balance beam, let me just tell you, it can be a very intimidating piece of equipment! A regulation-size balance beam stands approximately 4 feet tall, or exactly 125 centimeters. It only has 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, of space for feet on the width of the beam. The full length of the beam is approximately 16.5 feet, or 500 centimeters.
For me, it was by far the hardest event in gymnastics. Balance is, obviously, key on the beam...if you can't find balance, you fall. I would spend hours in my backyard at my house practicing routines with cartwheels and back walk overs and split leaps on a manmade low beam over and over again until I could stay on and finish the routine. I found that when I lost my focus and got off balance even just a little bit, I would fall or wobble and have to fight to stay on. I had to do it over and over again in order to conquer my fear and be able to do the routine on the high beam at the gym. I wouldn't quit until I finished a routine without falling....only then would it feel like I had accomplished what I had set out to do!! That's not to say that every routine was flawless or that the fear was gone, but I finished without falling and that made me feel so good!
I feel like this in my life sometimes. Much like being on a balance beam, when my life feels off balance or out of focus, sometimes I feel fearful, shaky and like I might fall. I get overwhelmed, stressed and cranky (just ask my family:) and things in my personal or business life suffer. I find that when I am accomplishing things I need to get done and not wasting away my days, I go to sleep at night feeling so much better! Getting organized is just one of the things that is helping me feel balanced and I know now that making lists and planning out my weeks better is something else I can do to help with balance in my life. In the last week I've been working in this area of my life and it's really hard for me!! I started to look at my days and find out how I have been spending my time. I've figured out (not that I didn't know this:) that I can piddle away much of my day doing silly little things that don't accomplish anything at all. To name a few....I'm addicted to 'Words with Friends' on my Iphone and can spend an hour sometimes catching up on all the games I have going....I'll get on Facebook to return a message and before I know it, I'm reading status updates for thirty minutes....I run to Lowe's to look at something for our bathroom remodel and end up walking around for an hour looking at everything....you get what I'm saying:) I'm not one to sit around all day doing nothing....I'm too ADD for that:)....I stay very busy doing all kinds of little things. It's just that sometimes I am busy doing things that don't really accomplish much.
So here it goes....in my countdown to 40, the fifth thing I'm going to work on is balancing my life better. I'm going to work on scheduling my days, making lists and checking off what I get accomplished, and not piddling as much:) I love having my own business where I can work from home, or away from home, at my own pace and on my own schedule...it's the greatest!! I can go to lunch with friends or go shopping whenever I want....but if I'm not careful, I can spend so much time playing that I don't get the things done in my business or personal life that I need to. Now I'm not saying that I'm only going to only work and not play anymore...that wouldn't be any fun:) I'm just going to focus on spending my time in such a way that I'm getting all the important things done around my house and in my business each day so that when I do go shopping or out with a friend that I don't feel guilty and overwhelmed at what I haven't yet accomplished. Focusing on balance and time management are so important in helping me to achieve all that I want to this year and in the years to come....I love life and am excited about all the possibilities laid out before me!! I'm not going to stress about losing my balance and falling off the beam yesterday or last week or even last year....instead, I'm going to get up off the mat and get back on the beam and try again until I finish the routine. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to design the life I choose....I want to make sure that I'm spending my time in such a way that I can accomplish all my goals!
I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet. Nadia Comaneci
I used to be a gymnast many years ago. As a gymnast, balance was so important, especially on the beam. If you've never been on a balance beam, let me just tell you, it can be a very intimidating piece of equipment! A regulation-size balance beam stands approximately 4 feet tall, or exactly 125 centimeters. It only has 4 inches, or 10 centimeters, of space for feet on the width of the beam. The full length of the beam is approximately 16.5 feet, or 500 centimeters.
For me, it was by far the hardest event in gymnastics. Balance is, obviously, key on the beam...if you can't find balance, you fall. I would spend hours in my backyard at my house practicing routines with cartwheels and back walk overs and split leaps on a manmade low beam over and over again until I could stay on and finish the routine. I found that when I lost my focus and got off balance even just a little bit, I would fall or wobble and have to fight to stay on. I had to do it over and over again in order to conquer my fear and be able to do the routine on the high beam at the gym. I wouldn't quit until I finished a routine without falling....only then would it feel like I had accomplished what I had set out to do!! That's not to say that every routine was flawless or that the fear was gone, but I finished without falling and that made me feel so good! I feel like this in my life sometimes. Much like being on a balance beam, when my life feels off balance or out of focus, sometimes I feel fearful, shaky and like I might fall. I get overwhelmed, stressed and cranky (just ask my family:) and things in my personal or business life suffer. I find that when I am accomplishing things I need to get done and not wasting away my days, I go to sleep at night feeling so much better! Getting organized is just one of the things that is helping me feel balanced and I know now that making lists and planning out my weeks better is something else I can do to help with balance in my life. In the last week I've been working in this area of my life and it's really hard for me!! I started to look at my days and find out how I have been spending my time. I've figured out (not that I didn't know this:) that I can piddle away much of my day doing silly little things that don't accomplish anything at all. To name a few....I'm addicted to 'Words with Friends' on my Iphone and can spend an hour sometimes catching up on all the games I have going....I'll get on Facebook to return a message and before I know it, I'm reading status updates for thirty minutes....I run to Lowe's to look at something for our bathroom remodel and end up walking around for an hour looking at everything....you get what I'm saying:) I'm not one to sit around all day doing nothing....I'm too ADD for that:)....I stay very busy doing all kinds of little things. It's just that sometimes I am busy doing things that don't really accomplish much.
So here it goes....in my countdown to 40, the fifth thing I'm going to work on is balancing my life better. I'm going to work on scheduling my days, making lists and checking off what I get accomplished, and not piddling as much:) I love having my own business where I can work from home, or away from home, at my own pace and on my own schedule...it's the greatest!! I can go to lunch with friends or go shopping whenever I want....but if I'm not careful, I can spend so much time playing that I don't get the things done in my business or personal life that I need to. Now I'm not saying that I'm only going to only work and not play anymore...that wouldn't be any fun:) I'm just going to focus on spending my time in such a way that I'm getting all the important things done around my house and in my business each day so that when I do go shopping or out with a friend that I don't feel guilty and overwhelmed at what I haven't yet accomplished. Focusing on balance and time management are so important in helping me to achieve all that I want to this year and in the years to come....I love life and am excited about all the possibilities laid out before me!! I'm not going to stress about losing my balance and falling off the beam yesterday or last week or even last year....instead, I'm going to get up off the mat and get back on the beam and try again until I finish the routine. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to design the life I choose....I want to make sure that I'm spending my time in such a way that I can accomplish all my goals!
I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet. Nadia Comaneci
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