I’ve been thinking for a while about the theme for this first post back after 5 years.
My comeback post! No pressure, right?!
Silly really, but yes without really realising it, I’ve been putting undue pressure on myself, thinking about what profound message I want to convey after so long away 😂
Gosh, we can be so hard on ourselves! We are often our worst critics. Getting in the way of making progress for fear of something… not being perfect, being judged or misunderstood. That’s another theme for another time!
I landed on the theme for this post while lying in bed, drinking coffee, on a rest day.
Balance… this is something I’m constantly working to bring into my life… and it’s not easy.
It’s a word I like – the letters and shape of the actual word*, but the concept and action of achieving it, too.
I have overused it in the past, like so many words, without really unpacking it and considering what it means to me and what it looks like day to day.
I think I used to assume that it would happen for me when I got everything right. As if it’s a static destination that I strive for and then achieve. At which point, finally, I can relax and stop working towards it.
But balance is something I work towards every day, week and month of my life – it isn’t a destination, it’s a process that evolves according to what’s going on in my life at any point in time.
Depending on what decisions and choices I make. Depending on who I surround myself with. Depending on what’s in and out of my control.
Balance, whilst it is both a noun and a verb, it is not static.
It reminds me of when I was about 10, and we had a Lola ball.
Is that what it was called? (Heads to google. Actually it’s lo-lo ball, but yes!)
Did you have one of these?! Feeling nostalgic now.
This prompted the following amusing exchange of messages with my brothers, below…
(For context, Malcy is one of Colin’s oldest friends and he lived about half a mile away from us. So that’s quite a long way to bounce on a lo-lo ball!!)
Back to the metaphor.
When you stand on the platform of the lo-lo ball, you have to engage every muscle of your core and make little adjustments back to front, side to side. Not big adjustments, tiny ones, to stay upright.
This is how I see balance in the context of life.
And this is the process that I’ve been focusing on over the last five years or so. Those little adjustments that I can make, every day in different areas of my life, to help me stay upright and balanced on the platform of life.
Little and often, consistently is the secret to finding balance, for me. And that’s not to say I don’t fall off! More on that shortly.
If we can think this way, we can also see that if we want to make a change… it starts and continues with lots of little actions. Be it in our relationships, health, mindset etc. This thinking can be applied to all areas of our life.
Often the hardest part is getting started on whatever it is we want to work towards. But if we break it down to each moment and the little decisions and choices we make moment to moment, then perhaps it’s not as difficult as it can seem?
It’s wild to think that wherever we are right now is the result of lots of little actions along the way… not one big thing that we’ve done.
Back to the metaphor.
You also have to have core stability to balance, and this means having some good foundations in place.
For me these foundations now come from prioritising my sleep, thinking about what I eat and how, when I move each day, being outside as much as possible, having time with others, having time by myself.
You also have to have flexibility to balance… if you are too rigid then you’re also going to fall off…
And it’s inevitable that we will at times fall… and yes, it can be difficult to pick ourselves up again and get back on.
What we teach at POINT3 is there’s so much in our life that is out of our control… But what we can control is how we respond to life as it shows up for us. On the good days and the not so good days.
And if we can somehow learn to let go of the struggle of trying to control everything, including our emotions, then we can find a bit more ease and peace as we navigate life.
Remembering that it’s an ongoing process and that we have the option to pick ourselves back up to try and balance again when we fall off.
Being a control freak, I’m still very much working on this… 😁 Like most things, it’s a lifelong practice. Little and often, consistently. Fall. Then start again.
*And finally. Because I like the word “balance” so much, I asked my dad to write it and I’ve had it incorporated into my latest tattoo. Thanks dad!
Metaphor done. Comeback post done. Done not perfect.
Not The Mayo Clinic 