Balancing Life
Finding a balance in this crazy life is difficult. I don’t know if anyone has really “mastered” it. The parts of my life I’m trying to balance daily at the moment are: family, friends, school, work, fitness, and health. I figure most or at least some of these are the same parts others struggle to balance too. So what do we do? How do we balance everything? Is it possible? Yes-ish. Right now I’m working 1.5 hours from home, taking two online classes, going to the gym 3-5 days/week, and trying to spend time with friends and family as much as possible. Finding time to fit everything in is almost impossible...But I’m learning as I go and doing the best I can!
The first thing everyone needs to do though is realize what really matters and what is a priority. Your health should be put first, mental and physical. Putting yourself first isn’t selfish, it’s the opposite. Think back to when you’re on a flight and they tell you that if the oxygen masks come down you should put yours on first, then take care of the younger passengers. This is because you’re no help to others if you yourself are not taken care of. Put your health first, and make yourself your top priority.
After your health is considered in your daily balance, think of who you care about and who matters to you. If you’re a busy person like most of us, your time is precious. Choose carefully who you want to spend this time with. Don’t agree to spend time with someone just because you feel obligated. This isn’t fair to either of you. While spending time together you could be regretting this time that is “wasted” which could be used doing other things. This would not make you a very fun companion and thus would then most likely be “wasting” the other person's time as well!
School and work should be next. These are things are must be balanced into our lives whether we choose to or not. Everyone's gotta make a living somehow! School and work both have certain hours that are forced to be added to your schedule (classes/work day). However, there is still time that needs to be devoted to school outside of classes. Homework and studying both need to be balanced into daily activities. The best advice I can give for both school and work… make sure it’s something you enjoy. Again, your time is precious. Don’t go to school studying a major you aren’t interested in because it’s what your family wants. This will make every class and assignment dreadful. Find something you’re passionate about and then you’ll actually appreciate and enjoy what you’re learning. The same thing goes for work. There’s always that quote, “Find something you enjoy doing and you’ll never work a day in your life.” If you have to fill your time with these things, make it something you won’t hate every second of.
The only thing I haven’t mentioned yet is fitness. This could go along with health, since exercising is a large part of your health. But when I say fitness I mean spending multiple hours a day at a gym which is more than just staying healthy. Fitness is amazing, I’ll be the first to tell you how much I love the gym and working out and feeling strong. However, this shouldn’t take up your entire life. Past working out for health, this shouldn’t take over your time with your family, or friends. Fitness is a passionate lifestyle, but you still need to remember your priorities in life. Often times I have had to stop and realize this myself. I was spending too much of my precious time at the gym and not with people I love. I lessened the amount of time I went and learned to balance my life a little better. I say a little better because it’s always a work-in-progress.
The balance of life will never be perfect. As long as you remember every day what is important to you and to make those things your priority you’ll be a-ok. If today was your last day, what would you spend it doing?
Until next time,
Cam