It’s something we are constantly seeking, striving for. It’s that pendulum that doesn’t stop swinging, the resolution for every year, and the cherry on the top of an overflowing sundae. It’s the achilles heels of our lives, the fleeting theme that never seems to last, and the carrot that is always just a little out of reach… what am I talking about? Balance. I am certain that balance is a unicorn. I have yet to meet an actually balanced human and I doubt I ever really will because balance, is the goal not the destination.
In this “off season” I’ve had a habit of pushing myself even harder behind the scenes. Of filling my days with blogs and podcasts, emails and meetings, and projects that have yet to be shared. I’ve told people I’m in the “off” season but it’s truly only one thing: on (until this time around.) The other day I was just feeling drained. Jet lagged from our overnight flights home from Hawaii (I still haven’t unpacked my suitcase yet, oops!) and not feeling like diving back into the hustle. I put up a new auto responder, logged off, and laid on the couch to watch an (almost) full season of Top Chef re-runs. It’s funny because I feel guilty about this, you know, slowing down the hustle, but if we were truly being honest with ourselves, in order to achieve anything resembling balance, we must slow down from time to time.
Drew got home and I told him about my day and my (lack of) productivity and he looked at me and said, “I think this might be the first time in five years you actually chose to listen to your body and not work.” I mean, for real. How will we ever find the unicorn that is balance if we don’t give ourselves time to just be? To be still, to read a new book, to sign off the internet, to grab coffee without looking at our phone notifications or to simply sign back into rest. When is the last time we walked to the bathroom without our phones in hand, mindlessly scrolling (you know you’re guilty) or ate a meal in the absence of a television? This off season I am taking direct steps to find this unicorn I’ve been hunting for five years! Last year I set up an autoresponder that told anyone who emails me that I’m taking some down time to rest, watch Netflix, and spend time with my little family! If I need to go on a safari to find balance, I will, but to me, it starts with active steps to at least make your life resemble something that isn’t lopsided and to me, that looks like a day or two on the couch with a good book and two spoiled pups!
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And this, my dear, is exactly why I deemed 2016 to be my year of rest. It was the word I chose to build my year around, and I’m actually quite pleased so far with how it has been going. I took three days off around my birthday (a Friday and Monday/Tuesday) and don’t think I could have given myself a better present. Matt says the same thing to me when I take a day to just Netflix it out. And really, I need to do it more. And while I tend to stress myself out in regards to following my passions and building my job, not taking time to rest in between the hard work doesn’t make sense. Especially with the goal of becoming a life coach – I suppose I should work on advice I can give but don’t always do myself.