Maintaining Balance

Hello loves, sorry if this one's coming out a little later than usual. (it's also going to be a little shorter than usual oops).

It's the second week of January, and for a lot of people that means the holiday break is over and it's back to the regular routines. There's a focus on getting back into the normalcy of life, while also trying to maintain resolutions and new hobbies, and keeping in touch with friends and family we saw over the break that we may not see usually.

These are all good, admirable things to try to achieve and at the beginning it may seem like we can do it all.

But realistically? We can't. Not really.

This is going to sound like I'm stating the obvious but: Life can feel super busy at times.

School and work after weeks of relaxing and having quality friends and family time can be a lot to adjust to. It can take a little more effort than we expected to get back to where we were before December hit, whether that's physically, mentally or emotionally. And that's okay.

I think we place a lot of pressure on these first few weeks of the New Year; like how we do in January will determine how our whole year goes.

And that's just simply not true.

Everyone has their ups and downs, and somedays you can feel like you're a batman-like superhero who can do everything you need to and want to do without breaking a sweat. And then other times it's considered a good day if you can get everything turned in at least two minutes before deadline (sometimes even a few minutes after deadline).

But regardless of what type of day or week you're having, you aren't locked into any one type of setting for the whole year.

Sometimes our lives can be bananas crazy, but it won't be like that forever.

The best way to get through the chaos is to create a balanced system for yourself. Figure out what the things are that need to consistently get done, the things that need to get done for a season, and then the things you want to get done that aren't necessarily "important."

Finding a balanced way of living that allows you to complete the "important" work things while also giving you time for the fun things you want to do can make you feel less stressed and give you a mood boost by working on the activities you enjoy.

We weren't created to be work-only machines, just like we weren't created to sit around and do nothing (as fun and enjoyable as that is). We were designed to live a life full of balance that allows us to work and relax equally.

So make the adjustments you need, whether that's putting in a little more effort at work and school, or taking the time off to decompress. But whatever you need to do, do it at your own pace and allow yourself the room and grace to figure it out.

Love y'all!

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.” – Thomas Merton