Work-Life Balance: WHat Does it Take to Make a Change?

By: Bree Gorman, MPH, NBC-HWC

5 year old Ava, thankful for family. Signed, Deer Track (her Native American name from a recent unit in Kinder)

Have you ever been working non-stop, working so hard to get or stay ahead... then you get your kids' artwork and realize you could learn a thing or two from them about priorities? This seems to happen far too often. I think it's time to take note and take inventory.  

Allowing the Space to Notice What's Off

Last week we headed out of town with four kids, a dog, and all sorts of luggage … so much cargo that it called for two cars. I lucked out and got to drive one way with just my three year old, who watched part of a movie and conked right out. It was the most peace and quiet I’ve had in months. 

I took advantage of the time and turned on a podcast. It was a relatively generic topic and I wasn’t expecting it to go in this direction—but when they mentioned the quote “No level of success can compensate for failure in the home,” I found myself becoming extra tuned-in. 

This entire year I have worked. Nonstop.

I think I’ve worked every single day, actually. As a health coach, it’s a bit shameful to admit! I work with people every day to help them achieve more balance in their lives, and here I am, with my life completely skewed! 

I don’t think it happened this way because I wanted it to. I didn’t plan to book my calendar up every hour of every day, barely leaving any time for play, rest, or sleep. COVID is not only a convenient scapegoat, it’s largely the true blame for most of us in this situation. I’m tired of talking about it, but it is a reality that has impacted us all, even if we’ve been completely “healthy” this entire year. 

As for most, the year started off pretty normal (well, besides the Australian wildfires). Spring break rolled around, we had a fun family trip to Dallas, and returned home but not to school for another 6 months.

As many parents did, we suddenly found ourselves with the added professional title of “teacher,” yet we had no training or experience. Talk about on the job training! Homeschooling 3 kids, managing a toddler, and keeping up with two jobs set the tone for the rest of the year. Here we are in December and it hasn’t slowed down a single bit. 

Did I develop a new habit of being over-the-top BUSY? What is that habit doing for me, and more importantly to my family? 

When we work ourselves to death we have no time to allow for space. Empty space is important in our lives for rest, for processing, for reflecting. We can’t integrate everything we are doing and learning if we never STOP. Think of it like a funnel that quickly gets clogged because you’re pouring too much into it too fast. You’re never easing up to let all the things make their way through and out of the funnel. 

No level of success can compensate for failure in the home.

Does this sound familiar? 

Take a moment to think about the effects this overworked, over scheduled behavior might be having on you and your family. 

• Are you able to be truly present with your children?
• Can you keep up with the day-to-day household operations? 
• Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping well? 
• Are you fulfilled, or is your career life just keeping you going on adrenaline? 
• How is your relationship with your spouse? 
• How is your physical health —are you able to eat well and exercise? 

Think about all of those areas (and whatever else comes to mind). Notice all your thoughts without judgement. Give yourself grace knowing it’s been a heckofa year and you’ve done the best you can. And also, create the space for things to change. 

Winter is a season that allows us to go deep, to explore within ourselves, to determine what it is we want to change and how we want to re-emerge in the spring.

​The new year is a great time to start fresh on a new path, giving our attention to the things that matter most. 

Getting stuck in the sand on our Thanksgiving beach trip!

How can a health coach help? 

As health & wellness coaches, we work with the whole person. What does this mean, exactly? 

I did my training at Duke Integrative Medicine, where we were trained to use the Wheel of Health to help clients discover areas of strengths and weaknesses in their health and work to address them. If you look closely, you’ll see that mindfulness is at the heart of everything, this is where it all starts. From there, every element of your well-being is so intricately connected and intertwined.

If you focus your work on one area of your health, all the others can be indirectly impacted as well—sometimes positively, sometimes negatively. 

If you take inventory and recognize some areas of your life are unbalanced or need attention, there is so much you can change with just a tiny bit of effort. A health coach is trained to help you identify and embark on your journey to a more vibrant life, a higher state of well-being. We help you find the path of least resistance, one that will help you make sustainable change in the direction of the best future YOU. 

To find a partner in your health journey, browse our directory of amazing coaches. You can read their blog posts, watch their Facebook live interviews on our page, and connect with one that sounds good to you!