by Stacy Altiery of Inkspot Workshop
Hello Everyone! This month I’d like to share with you a post I did on my blog last year about work life balance. I’m always getting asked, “how do you balance a day job, side business and family?” There really isn’t an easy answer, rather a different way to look at things that seems to make me feel better, and ultimately more “balanced”. I hope you enjoy this and are able to find a new perspective and some balance of your own.
Originally published as Balance, March 30, 2009
I’ve been ENLIGHTENED!
We all strive to achieve some form of balance every day. Regardless if we are working moms struggling to find a balance between work/family or single people struggling to find a balance between work/personal life, we are all on the same teeter totter of life together.
Recently I heard something that has changed the way I view “balance” and consequently it has taken a load of stress off of me and I hope by sharing this story you too will feel enlightened.
I was listening to a talk radio show and they had on a guest Psychologist. A caller asked the question about how to find balance in life and the answer was simply thought provoking (in my humble opinion). Not extremely unique, but just so simple and easy to grasp it made me wonder why I had not thought of it already.
The Doctor replied (and I’m paraphrasing) “You never really reach a state of balance because balance is not a state, it is a PROCESS.” He went on to tell a story about how he never thought he could ride his bike without using the handle bars, because every time he tried the bike would sway to one side or the other. He chalked this up to not having “balance” and figured he’d never be any good at it. Then one day he realized, wait! the actual process of shifting your weight back and forth from one side to the other IS how you balance!
Now everything is crystal clear to me. When I’m spending time with my son, I used to stress out about how I needed to be working. Then when I’m working, I feel tremendous guilt about not spending time with my family. Now I understand this is completely normal and the constant shifting of how, where, with whom and when you spend all of your time is actually the art of BALANCING.
Here are some great links about finding equilibrium:
Another real mommy telling her balancing story…
http://blog.amyatlas.com/2010/07/ask-amy-the-balancing-act/
A resourceful site for moms trying to do it all!
http://www.theproductivemom.com/
I hope this has helped- thanks for stopping by!
