Finding my balance

Every year Levi and I come up with a theme or idea or goal for the next 365 days. My favorite year we themed "Keep It Simple." That year we didn't go crazy on the birthday parties, make any large purchases, take expensive vacations, and we didn't make any upgrades to our home. It was just the best year! We found joy in small things when we didn't have big events, vacations, purchases, or projects to look forward to.

This year is pretty much the opposite of that year. 2015's theme has been "Work Hard. Play Hard." And we have. We have fulfilled this theme with a vengeance that has left us feeling like preschoolers clinging to their blankie never wanting to leave the warmth and safety of our home.

Our typical work week is most definitely more than 40 hours, easily more than 60, which is to be expected when you have two business and a demanding full time job working for someone else (creating the robots that will one day take over our world...get ready...just saying.) We have ignored our home for the last year as we have poured ourselves into this new venture of owning a CrossFit box and have rarely spent much time there except to sleep. We were spending most of our dinners at The Core because it was easier to keep working and lets face it, Jim's cooking is phenomenal and much better than mine. But getting up at 3:30am and crashing at the end of the day close to midnight was starting to take a toll.

But we justified all of our overworking by taking a gazillion vacations! Somehow in my head I always thought that each vacation was going to provide enough rest and relaxation to make up for all of the exhaustion I was causing myself throughout the work week. It took 8 months and 9 vacations for me to realize that this is just plain dumb. If you have ever gone on vacation you know that you don't get to just do your job as normal, tidy your desk before you go and never think about work again until you get back. No way. You spend the entire week before you leave trying to not only get caught up but get ahead. Then all vacation long you reply to emails, phone calls and texts regarding unforeseen issues and responsibilities.

But the worst is when you get back from vacation! You expect to return to a tidy desk and a tidy home but now your desk is piled high with mountains of paperwork and your suitcase has exploded with a week's worth of laundry all over your house. So now you once again have to twice as much work just to catch back up. Its dumb!!! And I'm even dumber because it took me 8 stinking months to realize this!!!

Not only did I exhaust myself in the midst of all of my so-called fun and relaxation but I also asked someone else who is just as busy as me to cover some of my responsibilities while I was gone. Now that really great team we have is also exhausted and needs a vacation. It's just a terrible cycle.

I think 2016's theme is going to be "Balance". "Work Hard Play Hard" seemed like a yin and yang kinda situation but it wasn't. There was no balance. It was fun until it wasn't. I'm happy to be still for a little bit. I want to enjoy my home again. I am ready to find relaxation through cuddling with my kiddos and watching cartoons or taking a walk with my husband in our own neighborhood. I want to put in a good day's work that I can be proud of but not to the point of exhaustion. I plan to play more often instead of so hard. I'm looking forward to those small joys again.

I'm not going to wait until 2016 for this change. I'm doing it now. I crave this balance. I desire stillness and simplicity. Sure, I'm not going to post as many annoying although adorable vacation videos on Facebook but let's be honest, they were getting old. I'm going to use my time wisely and keep my schedule more aligned with my goals. I know I'm going to have some days where I work longer hours than other days. I may actually go through another season or two in the future where we are once again working ourselves to the bone for the sake of a new business or project. That's a part of life. I think that is a part of the balance. When I do go through those seasons again I will make sure I am on top of my health the whole way through by taking the supplements I've already discussed in previous posts along with my trusty TURMERIC.

My little lifestyle of "work hard play hard" and then workout in the gym in between has led to quite a bit of inflammation in my body. Inflammation is a good thing at times. It is actually really cool because it is our super power to heal...kinda like Wolverine. But chronic inflammation is bad and leads to pain and disease. Turmeric is a yellowish-orangey, stinky spice that works as a natural anti-inflammatory that keeps our bodies' inflammatory response in check. It is kinda like taking a Tylenol without damaging your liver and kidneys. It keeps our joints from feeling creaky or painful, reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, decreases risk of diabetes and cancer, and protects the brain against neurodegenerative diseases such as stroke or Alzheimer's disease. Kinda cool if you plan to live awhile and want it to be an awesome life.

I heard someone say not too long ago that the pendulum has to swing to the extreme on each side before it can come to rest in the middle. I'm grateful my pendulum is slowing down and for amazing God created spices, such as Turmeric, that will help keep me healthy when it starts swinging again.