Finding Balance in a Busy World

Is the world getting busier or is it just me?

We are working ridiculous hours at our jobs, washing, ironing, cooking, doing household chores, paying bills. Looking after kids, spending time with husbands (wives) and family, caring for pets – the list goes on.

How many times have we said, “Tomorrow I’m going to start going to the gym,” or, “I’m going to catch up with our friends,” or, “do ‘this’ or ‘that.’” We are constantly running from one thing to the next, feeling uptight, getting stressed, losing patience – no wonder we‘re so tired all the time.

There are so many things involved in our everyday lives that it seems we focus on all of the tasks to complete without ever dedicating anytime to ourselves.

Think about it – we are always doing something for someone or something because it needs to be done; why is it that the “someone” is never ourselves? I realize that when I actually have spare time, I usually give that time to somebody else! Sound familiar? I think we are all able to relate to this because we are all soooo busy and left searching for that balance between work (whatever that work may be) and life.

So what exactly does it mean to find balance?

To me, it means simply taking time out to recover, recoup, recharge, distress, wind down, or do the things that help us cope with life – it’s allowing ourselves time to indulge in the activities that ultimately make us happy.

Life will go on if the vacuuming is not done or the car is not cleaned or the papers you have piled on your desk are not attended to at this very moment.

I love coming to work every day, running my new business Aquavit Spa & Wellness ; however, it has been very taxing on me and my family and I find it especially hard to find time for me!

When talking to Frank about finding some time for myself, he reminded me of some ‘activator’ thing we all have tucked away in our brains – the thing that alerts you to keep an eye out for something. Like when you’re thinking about buying a particular type of car and suddenly they are everywhere on the road and you’re astounded by how many are actually out there!  

Well those activators are very good at helping us find the gaps in our day/week where we can take time out. You just have to tell yourself that you’re going to find time to do… (you fill in the blank). Write it down…, “I WILL FIND TIME THIS WEEK TO (FILL IN THE BLANK WITH AN ACTIVITY JUST FOR YOU).”

Place the reminder in your purse or wallet or on the fridge…anywhere front and center to remind you of your goal.

My release is the gym; I go there and train hard with my girlfriends and feel totally invigorated and recharged. Usually I’m there five days a week, but lately that hasn’t been happening. I've made a goal for next week to allocate two days to the gym. I just looked into www.bikramyoga.com.au – there are so many great benefits to yoga http://bikramyogamemphis.com/2011/05/13-extraordinary-benefits-of-bikram-yoga/.   

I hope you all look at your day or week and think about how you can just do one thing for YOU...even if it’s just an hour a day. That's all... your body is a temple... look after the place you live...

Shaz x