I often hear people talk about the struggle to “find balance” in their full lives. Juggling busy work and family lives, trying to make time for creative ventures and self-care, keeping up with social expectations and financial obligations…can be exhausting!
I hesitate to even use the word balance because it can carry the heavy expectation of perfection and makes us feel we should be given equal time and energy to everything, which is usually impossible! I like to think about balance as being more about internal equilibrium: how do you feel about your life? Do you have the energy and attention to focus on the things that are really important to you?
Too often, we compare ourselves to other people and forget that each of us is unique. My off-kilter might not look anything like your off-kilter. And no one can define balance for you.
Let me say that again: No one can define balance for you!
It is helpful to know your signals for when you are off-kilter. What happens when you aren’t getting you needs met regularly? How do you know when you aren’t paying enough attention to the areas of your life that really matter?
If you are a body-oriented person, you might have symptoms show up in your body like: digestive challenges, skin flare-ups, reoccurring colds, chronic tiredness, body pain or lack of physical motivation…
If you tend to dwell more in your head, you might have some of the following: anxiety, trouble sleeping, grumpiness, quick to anger, busy mind, needing to control…
And if you are more emotional, you might notice some of these symptoms: depression, moodiness, a sense of overwhelm, chronic guilt, tearfulness and more…
Once you can easily recognize your signs of being off-kilter, you can adjust before you get too far off track. Begin with a simple question like: What do I need right now?
If you would like to learn more about listening to your inner wisdom, I invite you to join me for a FREE women’s circle next Saturday, October 23rd. You can register here.
