Striking a Balance

This post goes in two direction “striking a balance”. First, striking that balance between your work and personal life. Second, striking that balance between what you want and those who are on the adventure with you. The blog goes back and forth between these two balances because, as is life, it is all intertwined.

For striking a balance with objectives at work, you must answer the initial questions… what is my end goal? And how do I get there? The same applies to finding the right balance on your outdoor adventures in your personal life, whether it is your own balance and knowing how to find an equilibrium between work and outside, or finding the balance between your envisioned adventure and your objectives for the journey versus those who are accompanying you.

Now ask yourself: what are your goals and objectives for being outside? For learning new things? For taking on risks or the unknown? Is it to simply disconnect from the work world and electronics? Is it for fitness and health, a new memory, or a new challenge?

Like anything in life, it is important to understand yourself and where you are going, and why, as a first step. It is the same in work, if you apply for a position without knowing where it is you want to go or what you want to achieve, you will likely get overwhelmed or lost along the way. But if you know what you want (even an inkling) and where you want to focus your strengths and interests, the rest falls into place… with, of course, continued hard work along the way. The same is true when it comes to understanding yourself and your true needs as an individual, finding your balance as a single person.

Once one knows their own balanced state, your own goals and objectives, it will aid in aligning with those around you… leading to the next important balance: the balance of your goals and intent with your outdoor adventure versus the goals and limits of those going on the journey with you.

Their answers could be different than yours. It is important to explore those as well and find a balance together and a balance for yourself.

For me, my balance for work and personal needs is that I NEED to be outside. I need to get a break from electronics, from people that are not my family. I need to hear nothing but nature. I like to feel healthy and active, push myself, and discover my limits. It is also very important to me to ensure that I focus my personal time away from work on my family ensuring that they as individuals, and us together as a family, are making memories and giving my kids new experiences that are vastly different than most children today who are stuck inside most of their spare time.

For my partners on adventure, finding that balance is different. I can say that my husband’s goals and objectives for outdoor adventures are vastly different than mine, and the energy levels and types of adventures are different for our kids. Striking our balance has been key.

With the kids, they don’t fully know themselves when they are young, but getting them outside and starting adventures at a very young age helps form them. It helps them understand their likes, desires, and where their limits are. As my kids got older, I check in with them after an adventure or before planning the next one to gauge where their interests lie, what they want to get out of the time we have together, and what they hold near and dear as a memory or something important for them to check off their to-do list during the summer or on weekends.

(Side note: I think it is actually beautiful to see the evolution of their thoughts and the differences between the two kids. Each has their own personality and their own needs. Even though they were raised the exact same and exposed to the same elements, we all get to define who we are.)

But together as a family, we have struck a balance of what we are all willing to do setting our goal to have family time, memories, and outdoor time during the summer, with the objective of everyone having fun, being active, and keeping with tradition.

Part of striking that balance was realizing that we had goals and objectives as a family, but also a different balance of what the kids and I wanted to do with our extra time during the summer months—different types of adventures and longer durations than we do as a collective family. All while keeping the same objectives of everyone having fun, being active, keeping traditions, but also building and expanding on them.

Because of that, we have family trips and traditional trips that the four of us do together. Then there are day outings and week-long outings that just the kids and I do during the summer months, as I am fortunate enough to take extra time off in the summer.

This strikes our balance of maximizing our time as a family. When my husband is off, we use it for our family adventures and traditional trips that suit all of our needs. When he is working and not able to spend time with us during the day anyway, we use that time to go on more active, different, and longer adventures exploring new places and seeing if next year we make it a full family trip, or if it was a little too intense and stays as something just for me and the kids.

In the end, whatever YOU need as your balance, ensure you also think of those you love and what they need, and find your TOGETHER balance.

I love my career and I am proud of what I have at work, and I give it my all. But to me, my balance is still this: I work to live, not live to work. Understanding that balance is important as a first step so you can be self-aware if it ever begins to shift the other way around.

Stay calm, have fun, and find your inner peace.

ForestGirl003