Finding Balance by Gabby Mottershead

Problems arise in that one has to find a balance between what people need from you and what you need for yourself. Jessye Norman

For many people finding balance in their lives is a constant struggle. Modern life is full of stresses, things we ‘have to’ do, demands from our boss, our job, our families, parents, children. We should be exercising, reading, keeping a clean and tidy house and be up to date with information from so many sources.

It can seem that when we want to do things for ourselves that we are somehow being selfish, and therefore uncaring towards others. But if we can’t really nurture ourselves, and take care physically, emotionally and spiritually, then we can feel like our lives are meaningless. It can also manifest in health problems, unresolved stress often leads to physical illness.

I have learned the hard way, after my breast cancer diagnosis I did some serious thinking about my priorities, and I would like to share the following points that have been useful for me.

1. Choose your attitude, and make it a positive one. We all have challenges, life does not always go to plan, and things will sometimes go wrong. But we all have a choice of how we react, so make a good choice for you, don’t let the small stuff stress you out.

2. Live in the moment. Simple words, but worry about the future can be a hard habit to break. Mark Twain summed this up perfectly ‘I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened’.
Plan for the future, but don’t worry about all the things that might go wrong before they do.

3. Gratitude. We all have aspirations, wants and desires, sometimes dreaming of what we want, like a lottery win, takes our focus away from the blessings we have right under our noses.  Start each day with a prayer of gratitude for all that is good in your life.

4. Care for and nurture yourself. We all know that if we choose poor nutrition and don’t get enough sleep  then we will not thrive. Imagine someone gave you a very valuable racehorse to look after; one that could win races and make you a millionaire. Would you feed that horse on burgers and beer? Let it get fat and lazy? Of course not, so why treat yourself like that?

5. Know what your priorities are.
Balance doesn't mean do everything you can. Examine your values and decide what's important to you, then set your boundaries. Depending on what stage you're at in your life, your focus and energies will be different. Try not to become overwhelmed by attempting to do too many things all at once. Maybe starting a business is not a good idea when you're planning a wedding, dealing with sick relative and having problems in your relationship. Not knowing what you want and trying to do everything at once can be a recipe for disaster.

Above all balance is knowing yourself and listening to your inner wisdom on what is right for you at this time.  Listen to your heart, it really does know best.


read bio