Words to Live By: Balance
So, if you not my previous post, a follower asked me how I am able to balance my school work and social life… Here’s what I could come up with for now…
Balance. I love this word. I love it so much, I almost had it tattooed on me… almost.
There was a point in my life where I felt like I lost control of everything. My grades slipped, my self-confidence was gone, I pulled away from friends and family, and I felt completely lost.
After some “soul searching”, I came to believe that balance was the key to happiness, and made it my goal to balance my world as much as possible…. Juggling all of the things you’d like to do, with the things you need to do, all without killing yourself or having an anxiety attack. Sounds like perfection to me :)
For me, this meant balancing A’s in school, having some kind of social life, a relationship, spending time with family, and pursuing my career goals. The old me would freak out just looking at that last sentence. BUT (I’m gonna steal a quote from a friend here) I’ve come to embrace the idea that: ”When you give everything the time it deserves, you’ll have time for everything”
Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Focus your attention to what needs to be done at this moment, give it all of your attention at that moment, and get it done efficiently. You’ll be surprised how much faster things get done when you give them the attention they deserve, instead of trying to multi-task.
Have you ever felt like you were studying for hours, only to realize that it’s only really been 30 minutes of true studying, and an hour and a half of facebook stalking and youtube searches? Cut those out.
About going out: We all need some fun in our lives, otherwise you won’t have balance. However, most people can’t afford to go out Thursday, Friday, Saturday until 3 am and still get everything else done to the best of their abilities. Go out once a week until 3 am, or twice a week until 12:30. You have to make some sacrifices, but without cutting fun out all together.
Some weekends, your family will need you to be there for a dinner party, even though the most amazing party is happening at your friends house. Balance your desires and your needs by being at the dinner party for 3 hours, and stopping by at the party for an hour. It’s not perfect, but it’s a balance and everyone’s happy.
Yeah, yeah,yeah… easier said than done.
One of the biggest obstacles in being balanced is not pausing to think about the pros and cons of evey decision and getting caught up in the moment. Pulling an all-nighter with your girlfriends to watch sex and the city re-runs and eat a pound of junk food SOUNDS fun… “YEAH!” you may say instinctively. But what about that decision you made yesterday to lose 10 pounds? What about that paper due this week that you promised yourself you’d work on tomorrow morning? It’s these moments when we need to have the discipline to pull back, analyze the situation, and decide to call it a night earlier than the rest of your friends, so that tomorrow, you can be one step ahead of your friends :)
I just rambled on and on for a bit, but I hope this helps… :)
