Habitual Balance

Life has become a bit more hectic this week - I began my second semester of graduate school yesterday. I should have written on Monday, but I got lazy. So here I am, Wednesday afternoon, finally getting to sort thoughts. I'm starting to feel like I could really write about anything and everything. For me, it's not a lack of topics that hinders my writing...it is the opposite. I find so much inspiration and I want to write about it all.

Let me give you an example. I've become a regular reader of a few blogs during the past few months, namely Get Rich Slowly and Get Fit Slowly. Last Thursday evening two of those blogs posted entries discussing balance within the area of focus: finances and physical fitness. The article focusing on finances discussed a girl, ironically with the same name as me, who was experiencing an inner battle about financial values. While she was doing well, her family was not. Here is a portion of the entry which struck me most:

"Some readers will say, “Give up and move on.” Others will say, “Family comes first.” But to me (and, apparently, to Rachel), it’s not that easy. There’s a balance to be found. But how? Where is that balance? It’s a difficult question. As a reference point, I consulted my library of 141 personal finance books. Do you know how many discussed this issue? One."

This is exactly what I mean. Life is full of so many variables; the challenge, and in my opinion the rewards, from life come when it is all in line with what we value.

The other blog entry about fitness also had mention of balance:

"I mean, I know I did that stuff, but it’s not sustainable. I’m getting ahead of myself. What I need is balance."

Before this quote the author was speaking of a day when he was beginning to get ahead of himself after taking on too much at once. This entry came immediately after a weekend where he engaged in a 12 mile run followed by a 30 mile bike ride. Holy crap! I know I couldn't sustain that either, even back when I was in better physical shape. What got me about this particular quote echoes what was mentioned in my first entry: it's hard to stay in balance when we're totally focused on one thing.

That being said, here is what these two posts got me thinking (bear with me here): there has to be balance in MAINTAINING balance. You see, we can't always be equally focused on certain things. Sometimes, our health needs to be a priority, like when we are trying to lose weight or get in better shape. Once that becomes somewhat of a habit, we can then shift our focus onto another area, while still maintaining that portion of our life. This led to a discovery which may not be groundbreaking for everyone, but it was for me.

Thus, my "deep thought" for the day is this: balance is achieved through the development of habits.