Finding Balance

The prompt for day 7 of WEGO Health's National Health Blog Post Month is, “Be mindful. Write about what helps you stay centered in the present…"

Mindfulness has been on my mind a fair bit lately. Between having 3 kids and 3 jobs, my life is hectic, and I find that I have to force myself to stop and be present in my own life.

Those who've been reading my blog for a while, know that I promote the 90 Day Challenge. In fact, I am currently participating in my third 90 day challenge. My first two challenges focused on athletic performance, and I experienced some incredible results. My current challenge, however, is much more holistically based. Entitled, "Finding Balance," I am challenging myself to be mindful in my daily life  every day for 90 days, striving to find a healthy balance between body, mind, and soul. I am taking care of myself physically (via proper nutrition, ample exercise, and adequate rest), mentally (by reading both fiction and personal growth books, and writing daily), and spiritually (by identifying and dealing with stress, spending quality time with my children and husband, building relationships with others, and participating in daily meditation and prayer).

While this may seem redundant to those who already have a solid balance in these three realms, for me it is taking real effort. For years now, I have emphasized the importance of taking care of my physical health, but I have neglected my mental and spiritual health as a result. Finding balance is a real struggle for me, but I am up for the challenge and determined to maintain these healthy changes in my life.

January Report Card

At the beginning of this month, I outlined one major health goal that I have for this year: balance. My life is messy; it's crazy-busy; and at the end of 2011 I was wiped out. So I made myself a promise: to do whatever it takes to restore balance to my life. And I decided to essentially give myself a monthly "report card" assessing my progress. With one month gone, the question is: did I deliver on my promise?

Physical Health
This area was my strongest going into 2012, and still might be, though there is definitely still lots of room for improvement. My sleep patterns have improved a bit; I still stay up later than I'd like, making me tired during the day, or needing a nap mid-afternoon (which causes the cycle to repeat over and over). My diet is better; I've virtually eliminated take-out from my diet, with the exception of sushi, and am eating regular meals more often, but still battling too many low blood sugars. Again, there is ample room for improvement. Sadly, exercise was basically non-existent in January. I went for a few runs, snowshoed once, and snowboarded once. Pretty sad, considering I usually get in a good workout at least 5 days a week. However, I have set some nice big race goals this year, including a couple of half-marathons, a full marathon, at least 2 long distance bike races, a triathlon, and the Tough Mudder (stay tuned for a post this week about upcoming races/events). The events will motivate me to get moving, and fast. Assessment: C

Mental Health
As a teacher I get a bit of a mental workout every day, and I love to read. I set a goal to read 50 books in 2012, or just under 1 per week, but I only read 2 books this month. I'll have to step it up for February. January's BSC Book Club post will also appear this week. Assessment: C+

Emotional Health
Overall I did pretty good in this area. I was much less stressed this month than usual. I feel calm, grounded, and more connected with my family than I was in late 2011. Always room for improvement here, but increased exercise directly correlates to a decreased stress level for me, so even more reason to step up the cardio. Assessment: B

Spiritual Health
Whoa. No progress in this area this month. Assessment: D

Finding Balance in 2012

The 4 quadrants of health (clockwise from top left): physical, mental, emotional, spiritual

Life is messy. There is no doubt about that. But in the midst of the craziness we all need to find at least some semblance of balance in order to keep from feeling completely disconnected and lost. In 2011, I let that balance elude me, and by the end of the year I was feeling utterly and totally drained, overwhelmed, and exhausted. So my goal for 2012 is to bring balance back to my life by examining each aspect of my health (physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual), and making any changes or adjustments necessary to restore equilibrium.

Is it a "New Year's Resolution?" Call it what you will: a goal, a resolution, a plan, whatever, the term is irrelevant. I need to make some changes in my life, period, and I think the beginning of a new year is just as good a time as any to do that. Besides, there is something therapeutic about a new year and the sense of a fresh start that comes with it.

Over the year, I'll be blogging periodically about my progress, both overall and in each of the 4 specific areas, but for now, these are the basic goals:

Physical

Overall, my physical health is pretty good, but there are a few inconsistencies that I'd like to address. Sleep: I usually get enough sleep, but it rarely follows any predictable pattern. Working on call makes it difficult to get into a routine, but I am hoping to at least start going to bed and getting up at the same times every day, especially on weekends. Night time blood checks will continue as always. Diet: Towards the end of last year my diet got really bad. Too much take-out and fast food, skipping meals, and late night snacking left me feeling tired and my blood sugar going low way too often. I need to eat 3 meals a day at somewhat similar times every day, have regular snacks, and make sure I get protein at every meal to help stabilize my blood sugar. Exercise: My exercise routine almost exactly mirrors my my sleep and diet patterns, so when 1 suffers, all 3 suffer. This year I have some pretty lofty exercise goals (including running my first full marathon), to help keep me on track.

Mental

Last year I rediscovered my love for reading, and I want to build on that in 2012. Once per month I'll be posting about the "Blood, Sweat and Carbs Book Club" and discussing any books I've read that month. This will include diabetes related books and fiction. I am aiming to read 50 books in 2012, or about 1 per week.

Emotional

Stress is my biggest culprit, slowly invading every other aspect of my life. I can learn how to deal with my stress better, let things go, and relinquish some of my need for control. I can be a better wife and better mother. The overlap between this area and the other 3 is huge.

Spiritual

In terms of spiritual heath, I am not entirely sure yet what my exact goals are, but I do know this: I need to be more present and more aware. My life is busy and I tend to get caught up in the day to day details and lose track of what matters most. I would like to find a little bit of time every day just for me, to meditate and clear my head. I am also thinking of returning to church. I haven't been in far too long and I feel like I'm in a good place right now to return.

So those are the basics for now. More specific details and progress reports will appear throughout the year.