Life can be tricky. We want to do our best at work and also make time to socialize and to practice self-care and to take care of those we love. Sometimes, finding a way to manage all these things can feel nearly impossible or overwhelming. Life requires us to create some measure of balance when we notice we are feeling overwhelmed by all the things.

That begs the question of what is balance? What does that even mean in a go-go-go society where it seems things never slow down? Balance means, of course, different things to different people. For some it means equal parts work, socializing, taking care of things around the house and practicing self-care. For others balance may mean taking care of loved ones, working, making time to take care of physical and mental health. We all have different priorities so balance means different things for different people.

We may notice that we feel out of balance when we are spending more time taking care of work or caring for family and friends more so than we are taking care of ourselves. Those feelings can lead to compassion fatigue or feeling burned out. Perhaps that should be taken as a sign that some attention needs to be paid to the ranking of your priorities. Perhaps that means your life is imbalanced.

When it feels as though our lives have become imbalanced, attention must be paid to where we are directing our physical, mental and emotional energies. We do not find balance; we create balance. Perhaps that means eking out a little more time to practice self-care or cutting back on socializing. Perhaps that means the opposite. If you find you are neglecting things that have to get done, such as paying bills, practicing house hygiene or completing tasks for work, perhaps that means more energy could be directed toward those things.

We need balance in our lives so that we do not feel off-kilter. When it starts to feel that our lives are out of hand, that our lives have somehow become unmanageable, it may be time to take a look at our to-do lists, our priorities list and re-evaluate what is most important to us. Naturally, practicing self-care is important but doing so should be in balance with our other priorities and with taking care of those we love.

When you think of balance, what comes up for you? Is there an area or two of your life that seems out of balance? Do you need to redirect your attention to something that needs taken care of? Is it time to re-evaluate your priorities? Balance is not something that happens to us; it is something we create for ourselves.

~ Karri Christiansen, MSW, LSW, CADC, CCTP