We All Need Balance

We all need balance in our lives. If you don’t have balance you will get burnt out and find yourself unhappy or unfulfilled. If you find yourself working too much you begin to hate your job if you don’t already. Many people wake up and dread going to work but for most we don’t have a choice we have to work to provide for ourselves and families. Only you have the power to change your attitude of how you look at your job.

If you are miserable then why are you working there?  I know in this economy many don’t have a choice they just need a job. Waking up every day and having a bad attitude about going to work isn’t going to make it any easier. In fact it will most likely make your day drag on. So what can you do to change that? Maybe it is that coworker that just pushes your buttons. Maybe your boss is putting too much on  your plate. Maybe work is taking too much time away from your family. Whatever the case may be you need to find a balance between your job and personal life. It is possible you just have to be willing to find it.

Make it a rule once you leave work you don’t take it home with you.

Make it a rule not to talk about work outside of work unless it is necessary. (urgent, emergency)

Find something you really enjoy doing that is either relaxing or fun.

If you have kids you need to balance being a parent and provider because in the blink of an eye they grow up.

I went in search of balance in my life when I found myself very unhappy in my job as a youth and family counselor. There were things going on that I did not agree with, a supervisor that micromanaged (Micromanaged: to manage especially with excessive control or attention to details) my every move, and went as far as to insult me by saying in a supervision meeting, “I explained to you how to do that I don’t know how your brain is wired but it seems you have trouble retaining information I give you.” She said this knowing I have Epilepsy. Believe me if you only knew how much information we had to learn. The paperwork and information we had to deal with being nonprofit and dealing with funding sources, etc. I loved doing the youth/family therapy piece. It was amazing to see progress youth and families made however looking back I feel like I experienced my first bully in life  in the work force and she happened to be my supervisor. She drove me to resign. I left two years ago April 30th and have no regrets.

I then followed my passion of being an activist and doing it full time working on Erin’s law, another book in the works, and traveling the country speaking before thousands. I discovered in the process while I am passionate about the prevention of child sexual abuse I still need balance in my life. I cannot be in activist role at all times and be the only thing I am talking about. So I decided to find balance and I did just that. While I am on a mission to protect and educate children from sexual abuse I also love working with kids and teens. I began substitute teaching  this year between two school districts. Working with kids and teenagers between an elementary school and high school. It is so rewarding to spend days in a classroom with 10 early childhood kids, 7 autistic kids, AP high school honors students, deaf and hard of hearing kids, high school theater students, special education students at both grade levels, one on one aid with autistic kid or teen, etc.

No day is the same and it is always a new experience. This week alone I spent Monday as a PE teacher playing dodge ball with kids. Some came into class running up to me calling me Ms. M. they remembered me from previous times I have subbed in their class. On Tuesday I was a 1st/2nd grade teacher. There was an hour of math I was teaching 2nd graders on area and perimeter. There was students who caught on quickly others frustrated and saying, “I don’t get it.” One little boy in particular I saw myself in at his age and I was not going to move on until he got it. I knew what always helped me in math so I drew a visual on the whiteboard for all the students to watch and count with me as we figured out the equation of area and perimeter. The visual worked and I was happy to see him and several other students understand it. Yesterday I worked in a self-contained classroom of kindergarteners and first graders. I love the kids that challenge you. I think it is because I challenged several of my teachers in my early years of school. I find it very rewarding to work with them.

I found a balance in teaching and being an activist. It is a great job in the sense I have control over my schedule. If there are days I am traveling to speak I just mark those days off on the calendar so I am not called otherwise I get a phone call every day to sub. It is nice because if their is a day I just want to invest in my 3rd book I can sit in a coffee shop and do just that. I found the balance I was looking for in my life and could not be happier.

We all need balance in our lives do you have it, If not what are you waiting for? Don’t wake up another day dreading the day ahead. Find the balance you need.  Nothing will change until you decide you want change and balance in your life.