THE VITAL IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE

I'm back from a little break, and here's what I learned - I'm not good at taking breaks :D

Actually, this is not news to me; I've always known I was a bit of an all-or-nothing kind of gal. If I have the energy, I tend to DO more, and then get tired out, so I can't do anything.

Does this resonate?

I've been working on it, so the grey area is gradually becoming more comfortable. But before this, I'd either be go, go, go - or ground to a halt and stuck to the sofa.

I didn't understand the importance of balance, so I wasn't great at it - honestly, it's still something I'm learning.

Obviously, this isn't sustainable - and if you're dealing with chronic illness, it's really not sustainable.

I've had many, many clients with chronic fatigue, so I really felt like I knew the topic, but hoo boy, is it different when you're actually experiencing it.

Dealing with fatigue is a bit like trying to find that 5-minute window when an avocado is exactly ripe. One minute too early? Green bullet. One minute too late? Grey sludge. Ugh.

Finding the balance between doing too much and not doing enough is extremely hard - and if you're off even slightly, then the consequences are a massive whack of exhaustion.

This is particularly highlighted in chronic illness, yes, but it's only an exaggerated version of what many of my healthy clients are dealing with every day.

I've seen it so many times. You're driven by guilt, and a feeling of 'I should be doing ___'. So you keep going, keep pushing, and drive yourself to burnout. 

And in burnout, making a cup of tea is about all you can manage - and you'll probably need a lie down afterwards.

Nothing gets done, and you get overwhelmed with how 'behind' you are. That overwhelm leads to exhaustion, which leads to a total inability to do anything.

It's a pernicious cycle - and it will continue - until you learn the art of balance.

At first, balance looks like prising yourself off the sofa to do something small - like really small.

Perhaps that's taking a shower. Or making a meal. or doing a 5-minute gentle workout. Maybe it's putting away your clothes, or tidying something for 15 minutes.

I'm being specific about times here, because getting up is your first challenge - your next challenge is stopping and sitting down.

That's where it gets tricky - will you start listening to your precious body when it feeds you those quiet, early signals of 'enough'?

Or will you override your body's natural wisdom, and punish it with more than it can handle right now?

It's a process - and like all healing processes, it starts with tons of self-love. Deciding that you're no longer willing to keep hurting yourself with too much or too little.

Decide today that you're going to Goldilocks this issue, and learn what you need to get it just right.

Step by step, you gorgeous creature. You've got this.

Big love,

Sophie x

P.S. What's right for you is not the same as what's right for me, or anyone else. YOU are the expert on you - only you know how you truly feel.

However, we all need help sometimes to figure it out. Let me be your cheerleader/guide - book a free 30-min chat HERE to see how I can help.

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