Remember when you first learned how to ride your bike without the training wheels? You were feeling so “grown up” and proud of yourself! Unfortunately, you didn’t realize you were losing your balance until the handlebars really began to wobble, and by then it was too late. Hopefully, all you got from your fall was a scraped knee or elbow. (And feeling embarrassed, of course!) Not exactly how you planned it, right? Getting your life in balance is like that. You first have to recognize – and admit – things aren’t going exactly as you hoped or planned. The last two years have certainly taught us that life lesson!

Life can become unbalanced (and stressful) when you’re busy concentrating your energy and attention in one area and you don’t notice how unbalanced other areas have become. When you’re thrown into a tailspin because of an unexpected crisis, it feels impossible to “pull yourself together” in mind, body and spirit. Even when we’re not in the middle of a crisis, our everyday lives can still be in a constant state of imbalance.

Think about your own life, past and present. When small problems are ignored they can become big problems. So you must pay close attention to what’s happening in ALL areas of your life. Sounds like a big job… but just like learning to ride without your training wheels, you can do it. Start by identifying small problems that have gradually gotten worse. Sometimes it’s much easier to look the other way instead of being brave enough to honestly acknowledge the problem and then work on a solution. But you can’t begin to address and fix a problem if you can’t admit the problem exists.

Others may have become overly dependent on you. They bring you all their problems (real and imagined) because they know you will do your best to fix them. Or as I wrote about last week, they unload their “junk drawer thinking” (negative attitudes and behaviors) on you. So stop trying to DO it all and BE it all. Put yourself at the top of your list … for a change. Taking care of everyone else leaves very little time to take care of YOU.

Finding balance is critically important these days because you have to face your challenges with more creativity and energy than ever. Remember, finding balance takes understanding what’s going on inside of you while you’re dealing with what’s going on outside of you! Next week I’ll share some specific ideas and strategies that will help. For now, start making notes on the areas of your life that might need work. Think of it as your “Personal Balance Sheet”!

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