Balance vs. the Roller Coaster
It's amazing how much a few years can teach you about yourself. I know myself pretty well and yet I feel like I learn more and more about me everyday.
The last 3 years have been quite the roller coaster ride. In the process of achieving balance, I have been through a lot of ups and downs. It's usually times like these...2am on a Saturday night....that I start thinking about how I am doing at finding balance.
I firmly believe that for a person to be at their happiest they need to have balance in 4 areas in life.
1. Physical
2. Spiritual
3. Financial
4. Social
Imbalance in one area affects them all. For example, if you don't feel good about yourself physically it may affect your social life. Or if you don't feel stable financially it may affect your attitude therefore affect the Spiritual, Social, and...if you are like me and eat your emotions....it will affect you physically.
There have been a few times in my life where I have achieved pretty good balance in all 4 areas, but after a time I get lazy and complacent and I give more attention to one area than I should then everything goes out of wack.
That's where I am at right now. In the span of 3 years I have lost/gained 60/40 lbs. I have paid off 4,000 worth of credit card debt...and acquired 6,000 worth of credit card debt. I have been on spiritual highs and lows. I have learned things along the way...yes. My goal now is getting everything back in balance and staying in tune with myself enough to know when I start to fall out, so that I can fix it fast and be done. Because there is nothing that feels worse than being out of balance.
Right now, when I look at those areas, I can say with quite a bit of certainty that the area I need to focus on is Physical. It has affect the other 3 areas more than anything.
I genuinely feel that I have an addiction to food. It's so hard to admit this to myself even because I feel like I have more will power than that. Every time I buy that donut at the gas station I think to myself "You are choosing to do this, no one is forcing you, and you don't have to do it."...and yet, I buy the donut, and the candy, and the cake, and whatever else has made me fat.
I gotta tell ya. There is nothing worse than feeling fat and useless. I don't feel pretty, I don't feel sexy, and I feel like I am less helpful to the people around me because I am not fit. It's about more than feeling sexy and skinny....although I would never discount those at motivators to lose weight, but for me its about also about being fit enough to contribute to society. For me another big motivator to lose weight is because I want to be able to hike. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I read about these beautiful places in Utah that I want to hike to and I am always so afraid that I wont make it to my destination. Or when I go with people I wont be able to keep up. I LOVE taking landscape photos. From experience I feel one of the most spiritual places to be is in nature, and to see the natural beauty of this world. I want to be able to do that so much.
Eventually one day, God willing, when I get married and have babies I want to be the parent that goes to the park and hiking with my kid, rather than sits around and plays tv, games, ipads, whatever. I was driving down the road one day and I saw this Dad jogging, he has is teenager behind him and his like 10 year old behind him. It had the most amazing effect on me. I want to have a husband like that. And I think step one in obtaining that is becoming the person I want to attracted. If I want someone who is fit and into staying healthy, its only logical that I become that person.
I turned 28 this month. I remember when I was 20 I thought "If I am as old as my mom when I get married, I am just going to die."....my mom was 27 when she got married. eww. More important than getting married I want to keep moving forward in life. Whether that's toward a husband or independence and individual peace and happiness...it doesn't matter. We were built to progress, and when that progression stops depression starts.
Year 28. This is my year. Below are my goals. "A goal not written down is just a dream." So are they written, now so shall they be done.
Overall Goal = Achieve Balance
1. PHYSICAL: Become fit = Signing up for Get fit Draper, joining weight watchers (attend meetings regularly and often).
2. FINANCIAL: Stop spending money on food - stick to a budget
3. SPIRITUAL: Perform a random service project monthly - something that requires thought (it can be anonymous), pray often, finish D&C.
4. SOCIAL: Write hand written letters to family and friends on Sundays. There is nothing like receiving a hand written note from a friend.
The last 3 years have been quite the roller coaster ride. In the process of achieving balance, I have been through a lot of ups and downs. It's usually times like these...2am on a Saturday night....that I start thinking about how I am doing at finding balance.
I firmly believe that for a person to be at their happiest they need to have balance in 4 areas in life.
1. Physical
2. Spiritual
3. Financial
4. Social
Imbalance in one area affects them all. For example, if you don't feel good about yourself physically it may affect your social life. Or if you don't feel stable financially it may affect your attitude therefore affect the Spiritual, Social, and...if you are like me and eat your emotions....it will affect you physically.
There have been a few times in my life where I have achieved pretty good balance in all 4 areas, but after a time I get lazy and complacent and I give more attention to one area than I should then everything goes out of wack.
That's where I am at right now. In the span of 3 years I have lost/gained 60/40 lbs. I have paid off 4,000 worth of credit card debt...and acquired 6,000 worth of credit card debt. I have been on spiritual highs and lows. I have learned things along the way...yes. My goal now is getting everything back in balance and staying in tune with myself enough to know when I start to fall out, so that I can fix it fast and be done. Because there is nothing that feels worse than being out of balance.
Right now, when I look at those areas, I can say with quite a bit of certainty that the area I need to focus on is Physical. It has affect the other 3 areas more than anything.
I genuinely feel that I have an addiction to food. It's so hard to admit this to myself even because I feel like I have more will power than that. Every time I buy that donut at the gas station I think to myself "You are choosing to do this, no one is forcing you, and you don't have to do it."...and yet, I buy the donut, and the candy, and the cake, and whatever else has made me fat.
I gotta tell ya. There is nothing worse than feeling fat and useless. I don't feel pretty, I don't feel sexy, and I feel like I am less helpful to the people around me because I am not fit. It's about more than feeling sexy and skinny....although I would never discount those at motivators to lose weight, but for me its about also about being fit enough to contribute to society. For me another big motivator to lose weight is because I want to be able to hike. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I read about these beautiful places in Utah that I want to hike to and I am always so afraid that I wont make it to my destination. Or when I go with people I wont be able to keep up. I LOVE taking landscape photos. From experience I feel one of the most spiritual places to be is in nature, and to see the natural beauty of this world. I want to be able to do that so much.
Eventually one day, God willing, when I get married and have babies I want to be the parent that goes to the park and hiking with my kid, rather than sits around and plays tv, games, ipads, whatever. I was driving down the road one day and I saw this Dad jogging, he has is teenager behind him and his like 10 year old behind him. It had the most amazing effect on me. I want to have a husband like that. And I think step one in obtaining that is becoming the person I want to attracted. If I want someone who is fit and into staying healthy, its only logical that I become that person.
I turned 28 this month. I remember when I was 20 I thought "If I am as old as my mom when I get married, I am just going to die."....my mom was 27 when she got married. eww. More important than getting married I want to keep moving forward in life. Whether that's toward a husband or independence and individual peace and happiness...it doesn't matter. We were built to progress, and when that progression stops depression starts.
Year 28. This is my year. Below are my goals. "A goal not written down is just a dream." So are they written, now so shall they be done.
Overall Goal = Achieve Balance
1. PHYSICAL: Become fit = Signing up for Get fit Draper, joining weight watchers (attend meetings regularly and often).
2. FINANCIAL: Stop spending money on food - stick to a budget
3. SPIRITUAL: Perform a random service project monthly - something that requires thought (it can be anonymous), pray often, finish D&C.
4. SOCIAL: Write hand written letters to family and friends on Sundays. There is nothing like receiving a hand written note from a friend.
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