Everyone talks about using balance in our lives like it’s so easy to accomplish, a clear and straight line we can walk without problem. You have to eat healthy but don’t be afraid to indulge, exercise but make sure you rest and work hard but make time for your social life and sleep too. In reality, it’s hard to do all of these things at once. When we try, we just end up stressed and burned out. Yeah, living a balanced lifestyle sounds so simple in theory, but it feels nearly impossible to put into practice.
For starters, we have these preconceived expectations of how this will work out for us. Social media makes it seem so effortless. I couldn’t count on two hands the number of videos I’ve seen of influencers meal prepping, giving us a tour of their perfectly clean house or having us get ready with them as they complete their morning routines.
The reality of this whole process is much more frustrating and messier than what’s shown. Laundry piles up when we swear we’ll fold those clothes tomorrow but never get around to it. Work deadlines run into that night out you’ve had planned for two weeks. We overslept and rushed to get out the door, completely forgetting to eat breakfast. No one actually has it together all the time, no matter how it looks online.
There’s also the internal pressure we give ourselves. We want to make the right choices, but our own human nature can complicate that process for us. We ate that slice of cake even though we planned to make salad for dinner. We told ourselves we’d take time to meditate and relax but somehow ended up doom scrolling on TikTok for three hours. We lose track of time while binging episodes of our favorite TV show, completely ruining our sleep schedule. While our intentions are good, sometimes our own actions don’t always match.
It’s important to just accept the fact that balance is not some straightforward process. It’s flexible, and it can shift according to our priorities at any given time. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about being aware of the choices you make and giving yourself permission to adjust accordingly without judging yourself for it.
Ultimately, trying to be balanced in health and happiness is less about achieving perfection and more about embracing the process. Life will be messy, unpredictable and full of contradictions. By accepting that, we’re able to be kinder to ourselves and more realistic about our choices.
