Advice on Balancing Life
I have been asked to write on balance more than any other subject. I find that interesting. It is supposed that because I work, run, throw in a couple of triathlons, have 13 kids and a dog, that I am somehow an expert on finding balance. I am not, but wanted to share my advice on balancing life.
There were times — a lot of times — I put off a run (which means I didn’t go at all) because I got home from work and the house was a mess, or dinner needed to be cooked, or I felt guilty because I hadn’t seen my family all day, just to turn around and walk back out the door. So I didn’t go. Every time my schedule changes or my responsibility level changes or there is stress at work or home and I’m overwhelmed, I don’t go for a run. I am doing the opposite that I need to do, not just for me but for my family. They don’t always get the best version of me because it’s buried beneath a huge, non-quantifiable to-do list of crap I don’t even want (or always need) to do.
I was spending so much time cleaning and picking up after everyone I hit a point where I didn’t even want to go home. Dane and I were given a free night at a local hotel — a nice hotel — and I was so excited to have time truly alone with him. But at my lowest point of not wanting to be home, I actually searched for the hotel voucher to leave the house, shut off my phone, and be alone. That, my friends, is not having balance. It is the antithesis of balance. It is also an awakening to take a step back and admit something needs to change.
As we have minimized, I have begun to feel less stressed. Less compulsion to get more, do more, take on more. A lot of time is being spent minimizing our home, but that time feels freeing. The rooms we have minimized, I walk into and realize there is nothing for me to do. Nothing to clean up. And it feels great. Life leads you in directions — or perhaps we lead ourselves — to places we end up feeling we needed to be. We wanted less stuff, less stress, less cleaning, more time to do what we really love. Like vacations with our kids, reading, running, relaxing, playing board games. Instead of shopping more, having more, organizing more, it took unloading LOTS more to find that sense of balance and peace. I honestly don’t care what other people have, how nice their homes are, how much stuff they can show off. You’d never know that looking at our home and garage. Somehow it’s easy to get caught up in working, buying, needing to work more, to buy more, to organize more. I want nice things, don’t get me wrong. Just less of them. Cleaner lines, open spaces, nice couches to curl up on, I want my life uncluttered and if my home is a chaotic mess of clutter, that’s tough to do. Finding more balance = Fewer belongings = less stress = more time and money.
Originally published at https://www.momof18.com.
Jenn is Mom of 18, Transformational Coach for Christian women, host of At A Crossroads with The Naked Podcaster, Author, Runner, Minimalist, & Healthy Lifestyle Advocate
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