Stress is a choice, busy is a choice, and joy is a choice. Often we blame the circumstances and the situations in life for our choices, but it is in fact the other way around. We do design our lives . And much of our busyness and chaotic lifestyles are activities we sign up for and do not set any boundaries. We can put more on our plate then we can eat and sometimes even chew. In a similar way, , we don’t always pay attention to how much we put on ourselves, and we wind up struggling to chew.
It’s kind of a one-two punch. We can either take some things off our schedules and say “no” more often for our balance in life, or we can choose a better way to navigate our responses. We can choose joy over stress even in the midst of stressful situations. How we respond in our lives affects our health and well-being. When we constantly live and move in a state of rush and stress, we deteriorate our mental, physical, and spiritual health bit by bit. Over time it adds up and then we struggle to put our finger on why we feel run down, bitter, and fatigued. This often leads to illness as well.
When our lives feel so busy we can hardly keep up or possibly a bit out of our control, it is a good time to step back and realize we have much more control than we make the time for. Once you realize that your life is responding to you, you can get back in the driver’s seat and participate in what works better for you.
I’ve found that balance never automatically happens in my life. I have to make the effort to even it out. I feel I have a full blessed life and that comes with much busyness if I allow it. Some weeks are always much busier than others, but when I start to see it continue or show a pattern, I have to pull back on my reins and regroup. Sometimes it is as simple as taking a couple of extra days off to do nothing but things I enjoy. No one has to know except my family and me . The way I keep the boundaries is if a client or someone asks to schedule time with me on one of those days, I apologize that day is already booked and I will have to look at another day. Honoring your own boundaries empowers you to take care of a more balanced, healthy life.
Other times, I may have to step away from an activity or an organization to balance more. And yes, there are times I’ve said no to things I like to be part of. I just have to frequently remind myself that I can not do it all, and I can only pick a few things at at time. I may have to take turns with what I am involved in to experience the variety. These are just some of things I’ve found to work over the years and these experiences have come with many tweaks and learning lessons.
Be flexible in your own schedules to include taking care of you. The more balanced you are, the better self you have to offer to others. Not only are you doing your loved ones a favor by taking care of yourself, you set an example for your families and people around you that need to learn the same.
Remember the next time you are talking or thinking that your life is busy or stressful, it is a choice. And you can empower yourself by choosing more joy. More balance and rest disable some of that stress.