Ok, so this blog isn’t necessarily coming from the business perspective but it is about “whole wellness” and that is for everyone.
We often talk about “Finding the Balance”.
Work/Life
Family time/Personal time (and what does that even mean?)
Social time/Alone time (again… are we talking still at home with the kids or ALONE alone time?)
Healthy eating/that extra glass of wine or piece of chocolate…etc…
(there’s more of course!)
Part of it is just finding the balance within our world on so many levels… What do we REALLY need and what have we fooled ourselves into thinking we need when, we probably don’t?
Do we need the big house and the extra work/expenses that come with that? Do we need all the extra-curricular activities for our kids? Should we set aside time for our own personal, selfish use… even if that means taking time away from family, from friends, away from work? Can you be healthy AND have a balance of “extras”? Can you love your work AND pay the bills? Do we and can we take the much needed time for self care and what does that look like?
These are big questions and there are big, giant stressors from society telling us every day what the “norm” is and what we should expect to do!
If we can quiet the voices of judgement in our heads for just a minute… we can look at our lives and really take stock.
There can be a balance. For each of us it will look very, very different. The key is creating a fulfilled life. Not always perfect or easy, but fulfilled. Content. Dare I say: Happy. And yes, always a work in progress, but isn’t that life anyway? But its worth trying to make it the best it can be, right? Saw a fabulous selection of TED talks today and the theme was Happiness creates Success, not the other way around.
Feel good first, find your balance and it will help drive your success (on multiple levels).
My suggestion?
Buckets.
Are your buckets full? Buckets? Yes, buckets. (Take a lesson from a Kindergarten room) and BucketS… Multiple. We need a bucket for ALL facets of our lives including, but certainly not limited to:
Family (including relationships with partners and children as well as our own parents and then extended family, if that’s important/applicable to you)
Personal (and maybe that’s multiple buckets too: fitness, alone time, social time, self care time)
Work (this should be something that you are happy and able to fill!! Don’t get me wrong, we have bills to pay, but try to find that balance where going to your J.O.B. isn’t killing you)
Giving or Philanthropy (yes, this needs to be a bucket! You need to know that by filling your “giving” bucket, you will inevitably help to fill other buckets of your own and certainly of others. My friends, it takes a village)
(yes, there are more of these too!)
The things we need to fill these buckets are ever so different for each of us, but the important thing is to recognize the actions/behaviours or things that fill or draw from, our buckets. Skipping that yoga class because you schedule in a work commitment instead (yes I speak from experience), may fill someone else’s bucket, but you’ve dipped from your own personal bucket and how long can you continue that before your bucket is empty.
What do YOU need to do to fill your buckets. These are subjective! These are your buckets! So YOUR bucket for self care may look very different then mine but whatever it is that fills that bucket for you: DO IT!! And then always make sure you are doing your best to fill the buckets of those around you. Give and be open to receiving from an honest and gracious place. Have gratitude. Be kind. Be honest with yourself and be open to quieting those voices of judgement to forge your own path, so you CAN fill your buckets more easily, and hopefully with that, find a balance.
Just my thoughts after filling my own bucket and the buckets of my littles today:)
Happy Thanksgiving.