You see it as a hashtag. You see it on t-shirts. You see it on signs. You see it on wellness business logos. These are, after all, the 3 parts of what makes up - YOU. When all 3 of these parts of you are prioritized and cared for, then you - my dear - are balanced.
As Mompreneurs, we can struggle to keep up the balancing act. If you are like me, you want to take care of your family, have some quiet time with God each morning, keep your home in order, maintain a physical healthy regime, keep your sanity - and ALL while building your business.
This is not so easy. You may think you can just wing it and it will all balance out eventually.
If you do think that way, then you are deceived.
So, how do you balance it all?
By creating a routine and prioritizing.
Routine is a word I used to despise. Every single time my husband would mention it, I would roll my eyes. And prioritizing is something I never thought to do before, because I thought I could do it all!
Listen, I was ALWAYS a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal. I was always running from behind. I never completed a list and I always felt exhausted. In the end, I constantly felt like I was failing. Then, I established routines, one at a time, until I became in proper balance across the board - mind, body and spirit. I also learned to prioritize.
It’s easy to be living out of balance without even knowing it.
Here are some questions to ask yourself so that you can gauge if you are off balance in any area of your life:
Let’s start with your career as a mompreneur… Do you feel you must say yes to everything that comes your way? If you said yes to that, answer this - do you feel you’re always running from behind? Are you exhausted? Do you feel like you are failing?
Now, you as a wife, mom, sister, daughter, friend… When you are with your husband, kids, sibling, parent, friend - are you fully present? Do you listen to what they are saying to you or do you check your text messages, emails, facebook, IG, messenger? Do you actually put your phone away or is it constantly at arms length?
Next, you in your physical body…
EAT - Do you eat on the go? Do you eat enough? Do you eat whatever is handy? Are they refined carbs and sugar or do you actually eat a solid breakfast, a decent lunch and a healthy dinner? Do you even know how much or what you are eating?
SLEEP - Are you getting at least 7 hours in a night?
EXERCISE - As a mompreneur it is easy to become sedentary...especially in the online business world, sitting at a computer for hours. Are you getting any physical activity at all?
Now, your mind/emotions… How do you speak to yourself about yourself? What are you telling yourself? Is it positive, or is it doubtful? Do you practice any type of self development? Books? Podcasts? Courses?
Last, you as a daughter of The King…
How much time in a day do you give priority to your relationship with our Father? He knows you..everything about you. But, do you know Him? Do you read a devotional/bible? Meditate on scripture? Pray?
My advice is - ask yourself these questions and write down your answers.
Look at your answers and be honest with yourself. You will ALWAYS see honesty as a part of my message because I truly believe that being honest with yourself is the beginning of a journey toward accomplishing anything that is possible.
Being honest with yourself about yourself will help you to see what areas of your being you need to focus on, in order to change. Once you realize what needs improving, begin the steps to improve ...then continue improving mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. This will result in what so many, if not all, are searching for - which is self confidence, peace and balance.
Balance does not happen naturally. Every single area of life I mentioned above takes intentional focus and pursuit to make it healthy. Let me go more in depth with this when it comes to our mind/emotions.
You likely already know that everything begins with a thought - and the mind is powerful! I believe that as much as life, situations, and trauma can throw us off balance.... learning skills that we can apply and continue applying can also be just as powerful for the mind - and balance us.
Did you know there are natural emotions and then learned (acquired) emotions? Learn the difference and then learn how to manage your emotions.
I had stopped showing my God given female emotions all together for a long part of my life because I was taught that emotions were bad and that crying was wrong. These were the opinions of someone very influential in my life and their opinion I ended up taking as my own for so long. I was re-introduced to my emotions about 11 years ago, and over time I have developed a balance. It didn't happen overnight. It took quite some time, actually, and is still developing.
Emotions are a part of life. We can't deny them nor feel guilty because we have them. BUT - managing them is important.
We can't always trust our emotions. The enemy will try to use our emotions against us to keep us from walking in the spirit. We can get all up in our minds and our flesh. And when we give into that temptation, we are keeping ourselves from walking in peace and joy and victory - which is exactly where we are meant to live! We can do more and influence more when we live in that freedom. We will have unstable feelings and emotions. We are human. And our emotions can be a reaction, quite often, to something that isn't even intended to come against us. So we can pursue to learn the difference, and then respond appropriately. Emotional maturity doesn't come naturally. That is why we must pursue it. I had to relearn. It took alot of focus, and purposely pursuing it by prayer and then moving forward to where I am led - educating myself. I now enjoy emotional stability and live a joyful and victorious life! In peace. In balance. Our body, our mind AND our spirit...These are 3 important parts to FOCUS on for balance.
Balance is not something you gain once and then you’re done. It’s an ongoing process. It takes being consistent, continuing what you start and seeing it through.
Despite what social media shows you, know that being balanced doesn’t always result in namaste. Being balanced doesn’t mean you are calm and relaxed ALL the time. And if you are not calm and relaxed - it doesn’t mean you’re off balance.
When you find balance, you will know. The more you focus on remaining balanced, when you do get off balance in a certain part of your being - you will know. Then you can do what it takes to gain it back.
Our human nature wants things quickly... and would like things to be easy...WHATEVER the things are. But always remember the important things take time and they take focused purposeful living!
Be purposeful in all that you do. Have a plan not just for your business life, but for every area of your life. The reality, of course, is that things will not always go according to your plan. Even so, you will certainly be closer to where you need to be than if you have no plan at all.
You already know that a business plan is essential - remember that a life plan is just as important!
I believe that being successful as a Mompreneur is not about just being successful in business… It’s about being successful in balance.
I wish you all a happy, prosperous and BALANCED 2019!