Tag Archive for: balance

Frazzled and Frayed?

Lately, I’ve heard the phrase “spreading myself too thin” over and over.

It seems to be something that many of us struggle with from time to time.

We simply take on too much, pushing ourselves beyond our own capacity and then eventually start to feel overwhelmed.

Academic pressures, job changes, work life imbalance, self-doubts, digital overload, trying to please everyone, multiple roles, workloads, endless to do-lists….and so forth!

Have you found yourself in that space recently, with lots to do and juggling lots of different responsibilities?

I know I have a little.

Sometimes the weight of “too much” can simply become too burdensome.

My experience is that in order to catch up, we need to slow down.

The scriptures offer some wisdom on this very issue.

In Mosiah 4:27, we are reminded: “See that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength.”

It’s easy to believe that saying yes to everything is a virtue, but I’ve learned that wisdom teaches otherwise.

Even the Lord’s counsel acknowledges our limitations.

Overexertion can lead to exhaustion rather than effectiveness.

I love the promise in Isaiah 40:31, which gives us a greater perspective: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

For me, the key is finding a way to get the balance right.

Essentially its about knowing when to run and push forward and when to walk and regain strength.

Wisdom lies in our ability to discern what truly needs our time and energy.

Are we aligning our efforts with the Lord’s priorities for our lives?

My invitation today is to reflect a little longer and consider this question:

Are you running faster than you have strength?

If so, perhaps it’s time to slow down, reassess, and let the Lord renew your energy in His way and in His time.

 

Extremes

For those old enough, you will remember the summer of 1976, it was an absolute scorcher. Record high temperatures and a long period of drought. 😎
All year long our family wouldn’t travel far at all. But with dad being a train driver and free tickets, most summers we went as far away as possible. 1976 was one of those long train journey’s, all the way down to Cornwall and basically, that’s as far as you can go. Holidays together were a priority.
With the record temperatures and glorious sunshine, I have lots of fond memories of being on the beach that summer. I remember getting up to a lot of mischief, but most of all my feet being scorched on the hot sand! 😕
Only a few weeks later in typical UK fashion, the heaven’s opened and the country was hit by massive storms and floods which dominated the remainder of the year. It seemed as if mother nature was re-balancing.
𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬 – Life seems full of them.
Dry/Wet
Hot/Cold
Black/White
Feast/Famine
Doubt/Certainty
Freedom/Subjection
Happiness/Sadness
Like the hot dry summer, then wet autumn of 76, in life we must often chart a course between the two of them.
Finding a balance in life is a matter of setting the right priorities and establishing goals to provide direction.
How do you maintain balance in your life?

Balance

In recent coaching conversations, the topic of “balance” has arisen several times.

There are three areas in life – self, family and work – the key relationships – that need daily attention if balance is to be obtained.

Decide and commit to adopt the goal of balancing self with family and with work. Commit yourself to make yourself do the hard work, including the daily mental effort that is required to bring about this balance. We need to change our thoughts and what we think about, to change our world.

For example, there are three effective times for me every day to consider balance ….

– Early morning as I get out of bed – that first hour allows me to reflect, focus and plan the day ahead.

– Late afternoon or early evening when I return from work and the labour of my day.

– Late evening or when preparing to go to bed.

My top tip – Reserve a small segment of those times every day to consider the important matter of balance. Little things, will prove to be big things. Go on, give it a go!