Between courses she wields a paper mache solar system, and then bathes, dresses, reads to, and tucks the children in bed. As a mere mortal, does your attempt to maintain a peaceful balance between family and fitness look a little less harmonious, Are you wracked with guilt when your fitness obligations interfere with family time, Do you regularly feel stressed, pulled in countless directions, or overwhelmed trying to maintain balance between obligations of work, fitness and family, Balance. What does it mean to have balance in your life, Is it possible to do it all and keep everything in balance, Imagine a gymnast on a balance beam. You can picture her with eyes fixed on one spot, they're focused, yet in constant motion; while shifting weight from side to side, teetering, moving and making tiny adjustments to counteract the pull of gravity. That visual alone reminds us that the act of maintaining balance requires we make constant adjustments, be focused, yet remain flexible. All of us want and hope for balance. But doing "it all" means something, and sometimes everything, will suffer a little.
Balance is to understand and rate what things are important and what things you should let slide. Happily married for 14 plus years, I'm a mother of two young children, a friend, a daughter, a chauffeur, choreographer, business woman, author, clothing designer, program director and fitness professional. Regularly someone asks me, "How do you do it all," I always reply, "I don't". I do those things that I deem best support my family and weigh all decisions against that mark first. I used to feel "inadequate" if someone dropped by home unexpectedly and it was not in perfect order. Then my father-in law, in his tell-it-like-it-is wisdom assured me, "You raise a family, not a house." I love it! For me, that one comment took the pressure off. It gave me the permission to relax and put my priorities into perspective. If it comes to it, I will miss a deadline at work before I miss a football game. I will disappoint a "fan" who really doesn't know me, before I would dream of disappointing my child.
As much as each and every opportunity dangled in front of me might feed my ego, my first obligation is to make sure my family knows they are more important than all the money, fame or approval in the world. For me, what my family thinks of me is more important than the admiration of people who probably won't remember me 10 years from now. Perfection in all areas of life doesn't exist. Balance is the most we can hope for. Without truly identifying what is important to you, it is difficult to achieve balance. I've applied this "healthy balance" concept to my own life and work. It's a vision that as a business owner I work to instill in my employees. I know what works best for me, but I was curious to see what tips other multitasking fitness professionals might have, including those without children. So I went to a few individuals who I most admire for their commitment to balance and asked for their tips.
Granted, you may not recognize their names, but at the moment they're willing to trade international name recognition for harmony. 1. Prioritize, in writing, the most important areas of your life based on your current situation. So many skip this all-important first step or fail to re-visit this question on a regular basis. Though you may believe you have prioritized your values, goals or agendas in your mind; to list them on paper helps to clarify their order and re-evaluate your activities. Our top priority is often easy to identify, it's numbers 2, 3 and 4 priorities that sometimes over-lap in our minds and fluctuate depending on changing circumstances. Writing down your priorities makes it easier to navigate tough decisions. As circumstances change, so too will your priorities and therefore should your schedule. Any shift in circumstances, work-load, family, finances, health, etc. should require you revisit your written list of priorities.
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