Mar

Balance

Update 06 Aug 09 — There’s an updated version of this post called “Where’s Your Balance?“

Balance has come to means so many different things to me since I started martial arts. There’s physical balance and emotional balance and each affects the other in amazing ways. I find that when my emotional well-being is balanced, my physical balance improves. Conversely, as I work my physical balance, my ability to balance the demands of my life increases, as well. But when I get busy, or life becomes difficult for one reason or another, I tend to put aside the things that help keep me balanced. “I’m just too busy — I can’t fit it into my schedule.” Then other areas of my life start to unravel until I force myself to make time every day for balance. I know that if I take time each day to meditate, draw, or do poomse, I’ll be better able to handle the other aspects of my life and not feel so overwhelmed by them. Yet, more often than not, I find myself falling prey to the “too busy” syndrome.

Often, I need something to force me to get back to my balancing activities – the main one being my taekwondo training. My monthly dojang payment helps with that. I see the notice and think “Well, since I’m paying for it, I should get my money’s worth.” I know that once I get to the dojang, I’ll be more than ready to go. It’s just getting there that’s sometimes a challenge, especially on the days when DS is at his dad’s. It’s easier to get motivated when I’ve got a child in desperate need of a workout. Getting my boyfriend to the dojang is another impulse to get me moving. I can’t really insist on him going, if I’m not willing to go myself. Plus, once I get there, it’s nigh unto impossible for me to just watch – seeing someone else out on the mat makes me chomp at the bit to get out there myself.

The same goes for other activities that help me keep my emotional balance: yoga, drawing, painting, t’ai chi. I’ll often feel guilty for taking time to do these things when there’s a mountain of work and “must do’s”. Yet, that’s the time I most need to do them.

How do you keep yourself balanced? And how to you motivate yourself when you don’t think that that you can justify the time, expense, or what-not of those activities?