Episode 102: The Real Meaning of Balance and How Women Can Achieve It

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Natalie: People talk about balance, like it's the key to happiness, but for women it can seem impossible to achieve tips on how to find it in your own life.

Natalie: Hi everyone, it's Natalie. I hope your week is off to a great start. I wanna talk about something that's been on my mind a lot lately, and that is this concept of balance in our lives. Seems like everywhere we look, people talk about how important it is to find this sense of balance, but for women it can seem really difficult to do that.

So today, I'm. Floor why that is, and I wanna give you some tips on how you can find balance in your own life, or at least feel like you have balance and happiness. First of all,

let's tackle this myth of balance. Okay? Many people talk about it like, . It's the key. It's the key to happiness and everything good.

But in reality, balance is not a static state. It's a constant, dynamic process of adjusting and readjusting to the demands of life. Trying to achieve perfect balance is like trying to stand still on a moving train. It's impossible. Instead, we need to focus on finding a. and adaptive approach that allows us to juggle all of the things without feeling like we're constantly dropping the ball.

So, .

Why does balance seem so much harder for women in particular? Have you ever thought about that? Well, here's my opinion. In part, it's because of the unique challenges that we women face in society. Women are still disproportionately responsible for caregiving and domestic work, which can make it even harder to find time for our own pursuits.

Women also face systemic barriers in the workplace. We know this like pay. Still today and limited opportunities for advancement. I'm sorry to say we don't want that to be true, but it still is. That can make it harder to achieve a sense of professional fulfillment and balance. But despite all of these things, there are some things that we can do.

To find that balance in our lives, if we even wanna call it balance, I don't know what we would call it if we didn't call it that, because that's what the world calls it. So let's get straight to some tips to get you started. And just before I do that, I wanna remind you, I am so grateful for you being here.

I hope you're enjoying the topics that I bring you each and every week. Hit subscribe so that you don't. Single episode. And also, if you go to my website, natalie tisdel.com, you're going to see a place where you can subscribe to my newsletter, where I give you even more tips and ideas. Okay? Let's get started with some ways to find some happiness and some balance in your life.

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Natalie: First of all, let's embrace the power of no, Rather than saying yes to everything in your life and feeling overwhelmed, let's say no to requests or commitments that don't align with our priorities or our goals. Think about it.

Before you say yes, just take a moment, say, can I get back to you? Then answer also. Practice micro scheduling. Instead of trying to map out your entire day in advance, here's what you can do with that. Break it down into smaller or manageable chunks of time, and then assign specific tasks or activities to each one of those.

Next, mix up your routine. Incorporate variety into your daily routine by trying some new activities or experiences. This can help prevent boredom and that big word burnout, and also keep you engaged and energized. Okay, so this one's gonna sound funny. But I love this concept. Create a balance board. You can take a large piece of paper or a poster board, maybe a cardboard, divide it into sections representing the different parts of your life.

For me, this would look like work, family, faith. And health. Then grab a stack of sticky notes and write down some tasks or some goals for each of those sections and move them around as needed so that you can achieve a sense of where things are going in your life, where all of your time and your energy is going.

Sometimes just seeing where all of that time is going can help you reorganize. One section of your balance board might get overloaded one week. That's fine. Naturally that's going to happen. We're gonna have different times in our lives where our kids need more, our home needs more, we need more faith, and we need to just plug into that for a while.

But if you see that one area like work is. overloaded each and every week. Then you're gonna know routinely that you need to section it out a little bit more and spend a little bit more time on those sticky notes in other areas. You're gonna see where your balance is off if you do this. I like the balance board and a, a bigger piece of paper because I think it's more visual and I'm very visual.

But you can simply do this on a piece of paper if that's easier for you. Next, my next idea for you, make time for playful activities like games, crafts, sports. That's gonna help you balance out the seriousness of your work life and your responsibilities and the things around your house.

So I'm gonna be very transparent with you. This is where I struggle the most. I'm working on it. It's like, I don't know, probably something from my past because that's where so much of this comes from. I feel like when I give time to those things that I need to be doing something else, and, I'm working on it.

I have to sit down and really try to just focus on something that makes me happy outside of work. Maybe it's a game for me. It's also, Pulling out the coloring, crayons and just doing some something that takes me out of my normal routine or playing a game with my son, jumping on the trampoline, things like that that I just can enjoy without feeling overwhelmed.

Like there are a million other things to do because there are a million other things to do, but we have to balance our lives in having fun. Okay. Next tip. Use technology mindfully. I know you hear this everywhere you go, but do you really do it? Technology can be and it absolutely is a useful tool. It can also be a major source of distraction and stress.

Set some boundaries around your use of technology and choose some apps or devices that help you because those are out there too, rather than hold you back your quest for. Is achievable, but technology needs to be something that we're using again to help us not to hold us back from the other things that give us balance in our lives.

Okay, here's another one. Embrace the art of delegation. Do you do this? Don't be afraid to delegate tasks or responsibilities to other people. Be that work or even in your home. It might be things that you give your kids. I lately have been focusing on giving my son tasks before he can do other things and, and he complaints every single time because that's a child's, responsibility I think.

Is to try to push back. Maybe not responsibility, but that's what they do. Let them do it, but then hold them accountable. So for him, for instance, yesterday, he needed to practice his piano, pick up his room and do a load of dishes. You know, how much time all of that took him. About a half an hour. It's really not much.

So it's teaching him responsibility, it's delegating, taking one thing off of my list every day, and it's each and every day. This can free up a whole lot of time and energy for the things that truly matter to you. . All right. Here's another one. Find balance in motion. Incorporate movement into your day.

Maybe it's exercise, maybe it's stretching, or just taking a regular break to go on a walk around the block. Again, that can be like a 10 minute thing, a 15 minute thing, but it will give you more of that sense of feeling. I'm saying balance again, but it might be more of a feeling of just ah, calm. Because you get up and you get out of your head, get out of what you're doing, get a little bit of movement, and I promise it will help. Here's another one. Learn a new skill. Pursue a new skill. Maybe a hobby that interests you, brings you joy, something you haven't done in the past. Maybe it is painting or coloring or ceramics. Find something and keep learning. I found in my life, that's why I love being a journalist.

I have found that learning keeps me feeling just motivated because I love learning new things. That is a sense of fulfillment to me. Okay, here's another one. I'm going through a long list, but I know all of these will be helpful to you. Practice forgiveness.

Forgiving yourself and others can help release negative energy and it can bring more balance into your life. Jesus teaches us to forgive others because forgiving those who have hurt us can actually help bring a sense of balance and release negative energy And last. Let's simplify, can we let go of the things that don't serve you?

Sometimes we hold on to things a whole lot longer than we really need to. Maybe it's material possessions, maybe it's relationships. Simplify your life and I promise that will bring you more balance and one. Let's cultivate resilience. I have talked about resilience so often on this podcast, and you can go back and listen to full episodes on resilience, the road to success.

Is never a straight line, and women in business are likely to face setbacks and obstacles along the way. Even not in business in our personal lives, we're just gonna face those obstacles. Developing resilience is a key to bouncing back from adversity, staying focused on your goals and ultimately, Achieving success.

Are you also seeking mentorship? I know I keep saying I've got the last one, but this is one that I really wanna talk about because having a mentor who can provide guidance, support, advice, that also can be invaluable to women. Look for someone who maybe has some experience in being fulfilled and balanced.

Maybe someone a little older than you, doesn't have to be, but often that's the case. Someone who you admire. You can make a point of building a relationship with. Remember finding whatever you call balance is a personal journey that looks different for each and every one of us. Don't be afraid to explore non-traditional ideas. Find what works for you. Embrace that journey and enjoy the process of discovering what brings you happiness and what brings you. Thanks so much for listening today, and I hope these have been helpful to you.

I love hearing from you. If you wanna send me an email, reach out to me on social media at Natalie Tisk. Have a great week. I'll talk to you again soon.