Its Time to Find Balance In Everyday Life

It’s time to find balance in everyday life. Blogging was something I had wanted to try for quite a few years, but always gave up when I couldn’t find a name for it. It wasn’t until I found yoga that the name came to me. The more I practiced yoga I began to learn how important balance was not just in yoga but in everyday life. That is when my blog Real Life Balanced began. Sadly even through the last year, I did not find my life balance. Work still controlled much of my everyday. I knew this needed to change, but wasn’t sure how. Now that we are forced to take a break it is time for me to find my balance.

Stress, Fear and Uncertainty

For those that don’t know, my husband and I own a sound reinforcement company. We built our company over 23 years providing sound systems for events. Being that these events gather people ranging from 500 to 30,000, it is beginning to look like we may not be working until 2021. This has created much stress, fear, and uncertainty about our future. The last month has been about attempting to be agile and find ways to save our company.

Time for Full Isolation

Each day has brought such different emotions. In the beginning, we felt very targeted, as events were the first thing to go. Unfortunately, as you know it became much bigger than that. Now we are all in this together. At least for a minute. The early weeks we spent binge-watching the news hoping for some sign of relief. This proved to not help our mental state but also destroy our productivity. After about a week it became clear that it was important to not only isolate from the outside world but also to isolate ourselves from the negativity placed in front of us by the media.

Acceptance

We finally knew we needed to accept that this thing wasn’t going anywhere soon. There was nothing we could do but wait like everyone else. Once we had accepted the situation it became easier to see how we needed to react. Our first reaction was to apply for any and all assistance that we may qualify for to enable us to be prepared to be in this for the long haul. Our next reaction was that it was time to turn off the negative news. It quickly became apparent that this was necessary to maintain our mental health.

Finding Positivity

We are able to find peace in knowing that we had our “wellness visits” a week before all this unraveled and we received our clean bill of health. Two of our kids have continued to work and their companies are taking measures for their safety. These are all positive things in these negative times. While the worry and fear still remain, it is time to find more positivity. It’s unfortunate that the goals of the media today are to create more fear, therefore we must seek positivity in other ways. I have generally found music to be therapeutic. However, being it is a part of what we have lost I have not found the typical result I would have with music. This has caused me to seek other sources. Most recently I have found podcasts and podcast videos to be helpful.

#Next90Challenge

I recently came across an online challenge called the #Next90Challege. This is a 90-day challenge with videos hosted by Rachel Hollis, the author of “Girl, Wash Your Face”. This is all about living intentionally. I was immediately drawn in, I felt as if she was speaking directly to me. The first week was in regards to “Perspective”. She discussed not looking at these times as happening to us, but to find a meaning to it. Such as why it is happening. Is there something that we can to make this negative a positive? How can we grow from this? Perhaps it is making family time more meaningful, or finding a hobby that we have never had time to pursue. Too often in the last few years, I have heard so many people complain about being too busy and unable the things they wanted to do. Now is a good time to revisit those things. For me, I will try to continue to find balance in my everyday life. I have enjoyed the renewed connection with my children as everyone has slowed down some.

Start Something New

I mentioned that I felt as though she was speaking directly to me. Once she talked about having to cancel her live events, I could identify. Her words only became clearer as she discussed finding a positive meaning. I was already working on that path in my life. When the realization came to me that one I wasn’t going to be working for a while and two our business may suffer long term damage from the economic crisis, I knew I must react. For several years I had considered continuing my education. I decided now was as good of a time as any to look into the possibility. With the ability to learn remotely now, I could start the process while not having work, then adjust easily as the work resumed. Well, all of the stars aligned and I will be continuing my education beginning in May studying Marketing.

Continue Good Habits

While in times of crisis it is all too easy to let our nutrition and fitness go. It is ok to fall out of routine for a minute and grieve what is lost, however, we must not make it a long term habit. On the days that I was stressed and focused on the negativity, I admit I quit making my fitness a priority. The sad thing is that this just made me feel worse. I opted to accept a challenge posted by my fitness social media group and get back to it. While many are struggling because the gyms have closed there are plenty of options to continue making fitness a priority at home. I have used Beachbody On Demand for almost two years now. The variety of workout options are endless, and each program touches on nutrition as well. The trainer that I found works well for me just started a new program 10 Rounds, which is a mix of learning boxing as well as some weight lifting, the link will take you to a free sample workout. I am now a week in and really enjoying it. Please feel free to reach out if you would like to hear more about my experience.

The New Normal

Now that this is looking to be a new normal for many of us, it is time to embrace and make the best of what we can. Although we don’t all agree with how this virus has been handled it doesn’t help our productivity and mental health to be angry. We must not spend the next year or eighteen months in fear and anger because that will just be time that we will lose that we can’t get back. Life will not return to the normal we once knew. We must accept that and adapt to the new normal that is going to be. It is time to embrace that new normal and make it the best it can be for each and every one of us. Also, we must not lose hope. Last week we were one of the fortunate companies that received confirmation that our efforts and actions will hopefully pay off as we received the decision that we are to receive some SBA disaster assistance. While the money is not all in the bank today, I will remain hopeful that it soon will be. For now, it is time to get living.