I've been thinking about balance a lot lately. Not the kind of balance where you can walk a beam; I try to avoid thoughts of coordination because I have none. (HA!) I mean the type of balance that allows one to live a well-rounded life. It is extraordinarily difficult for me to achieve. I wonder if everyone feels that way or if I just lack coordination in both the physical and mental departments of life.
So much of my difficulty with this issue stems from the fact that I am an "all-or-nothing" kind of girl with more than a touch of perfectionist thrown in. When I really can (or want to) do something then I am balls-to-the-wall determined to get it done, often to the detriment of other areas of my life. That's the "all" part. The "nothing" part comes in when I either can't do something or just can't do it to the standards that I have set for myself. If I can't get it just the way I want (Hello, perfectionism!) then I just won't do it at all. Some of those standards are pretty ridiculous, too. It makes me wonder if I don't deliberately make some tasks impossible in order to give myself an excuse to quit. And isn't that an ugly thought?
I have a few of these areas merging right now and it's making me hideously uncomfortable. My hope is that I can push past those issues and just do what I can. I need to find a way to make peace with the fact that my best effort really is good enough. That's something we tell the kids all the time! I guess I misplaced my own copy of that memo.
How about you? How do you find balance in your life? (Really, because I could use some tips.)
I have by no means perfected this, but when I seem to get it "mostly" right is when I try to keep things reasonable and in persepctive. Also, lists help me. Meditating and starting the day off quietly with some exercise and me time are good (need to do more of that, though!). Hope that helps. Look forward to reading others' suggestions, too.
ReplyDeleteWas just reading this...how timely!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.getbuttonedup.com/2010/03/being-uncomfortable-is-a-good-thing/
Oh, I am a big-time list maker. You should see my PCS notebook. It's ugly. lol
ReplyDeleteThat is funny! I can relate to a LOT of that. Thanks for sharing! :)
ReplyDeleteI am a procrastinator and I half ass everything (just ask Will) I have no balance what so ever........ I make lists but then they get lost in the piles of paper the girls leave around the house. If I try to remember something I just gets lost in the shuffle of all the other information my two drama queens lay on me in a day. Will gets about 15 emails from me a day just because I will never remember to tell him everything by the time he gets home... I guess I should make a conversations to have with Will list. If only he would respond to those emails life would be so much easier....
ReplyDeleteThat happens to a lot of my stuff too. Take my PCS notebook, for example. I haven't been able to find it for 2 days. I know I've just tucked it away somewhere (because there's no way I would forget it there, lol) but I haven't stumbled across it yet. So now I have a couple of sticky notes that have things I need to add to the PCS notebook...what do you think the chances are of still having those sticky notes when I do finally find the notebook? *sigh*
ReplyDeleteBTW, you do NOT half ass everything. Pfft!
Ugh I so know what you mean. I don't know how to find balance in my life. I am searching just like you are :(
ReplyDeleteBalance? What the hell is that? lol I am just like you in that regard. If I decide to clean the bathroom, it takes me anywhere between 3 to 4 hours to get it done. Why? Cuz I'm a perfectionist and have to scrub every little cubby until it's clean. So...I have managed to ignore it most of the time. "Ooh...look, ring around the tub. Yeah, I should probably clean that today!" I have lists and can usually find them until I decide I've had enough and chuck everything into a nearby bin to "clean" and then have to spend 3 hours searching for the notebook I'm sure is in there...only to find it somewhere else! and, like you...if I'm interested, I can totally get into it...to the point where I ignore everything else. After all, there's a lot more interesting out there these days! lol
ReplyDeleteSo, I somewhat cope. I try to have lists of daily chores and I usually make it to Wednesday before I'm just not interested anymore. So...I put the stuff I hate doing first to get them out of the way...which would explain why I haven't done "real" groceries in months (that falls on a Thursday). lol I have a small calendar that I carry around everywhere so that I can at least keep track of the dates of stuff. So far, so good!
Hope you find your PCS notebook soon! Sorry I couldn't be more help...but I can totally relate! lol
It always helps to know I'm not alone, though. :)
ReplyDeleteThis upcoming move is really screwing with me. I really want to just dive into the whole prep work for that but there are other things that I am trying to get done too. It's hard for me to put a project aside before it's done--even if it's just so that I can work on something else for awhile!
ReplyDeleteI did find my PCS notebook, which was a huge relief. Of course, I could only find one of my sticky notes so go figure. lol
I agree :)
ReplyDelete