As the year winds down, I often find myself reflecting on the past months and setting goals for the future. One goal persistently reappears on my list each year: “Find more balance in my life.” Yet, year after year, I never quite tick that goal off my list.
This year we added a new child to our family. With two children under 2 years old, a brand-new job, two dogs, a husband, friends, family… I felt like I was the furthest thing from balanced. It almost felt like I was failing―why can’t I figure this balance thing out??
I reached a tipping point and found myself on a long overdue call with my life coach. When she asked what I was struggling with the most and what I wanted to work on, I responded, “I want to try and find balance in my life.” Her response was a life-altering, light bulb moment for me: “Balance doesn’t exist.” WHAAAAAATTTT??? I think my mouth was wide open after she said those words. The word, balance, refers to an even distribution of weight, enabling something to remain steady. My life coach went on to explain that in life, there will always be something tipping the scale a bit more in its favor, and it is very rare to be at this happy steady equilibrium. Instead, she challenged me to turn the word, balance, into a verb. Balancing is the process of achieving or maintaining equilibrium. Understanding that I need to focus on the process, I was able to set a new goal to head into the new year with.
My new goal is no longer, I am striving for balance, but rather, KEEP BALANCING!
In this phase of my life, I am balancing: a full-time job, with motherhood to small kids, with being a wife, with being a sister, with being a daughter, and with being a friend. In some situations, the scale tips more toward my job, and other times toward motherhood. Instead of always striving for balance (which I am never achieving, and results in constant guilt), I am now granted this freedom to say that I’m balancing many things and balancing them well.
When diving deeper into the balancing act, it also became clear that, sometimes, we tip the scales a bit too far with all we are trying to juggle. It’s a reminder to step back, see what needs to be removed, and what adjustments we can make to get back to that healthy level of balancing. I also realized that, sometimes, we wait too late to figure out that the scales have been tipped too far in one direction. Sometimes, we get to burnout at work before we have this realization, or we live in constant mom guilt for all the time we are not with our children. To make sure I have constant control over my tipping scale, I decided I needed a daily exercise.
So, I now have a section called “The Balancing Act” in my daily journal―this allows me to assess and write down all I am balancing that day. If I have big work deadlines and find myself in a spiral of long workdays, I can notice and name it, adjust, and intentionally carve out the time I need to get that scale tipping more in line with my family goals. Some days, I feel like I am balancing beautifully; other days, I feel like I am a seesaw, going up and down in a pace I am not quite comfortable with. Through my daily balancing act exercise, I can make sure that those rougher periods don’t get out of control, knowing I have the tools to bring it back to a place on the scale that feels “right.”
As we head into a new year, filled with new aspirations, goals and challenges, I challenge you to turn that nonexistent “balance” into a verb, begin controlling your balancing act, and KEEP BALANCING!
About the Author
Seri Kravitz: Former Professional Athlete and Director of Signature Collective & Marketing
Seri Kravitz boasts a distinguished 12-year career as a professional water polo player, representing both South Africa and Australia on the global stage. Upon retiring from active competition, Seri transitioned into coaching, where she demonstrated a knack for nurturing highly successful teams. Her coaching acumen propelled her to the helm of the South African Women’s National team, where she was a vocal advocate for equality for women in minority sports.
Transitioning from the pool to the digital realm, Seri played a pivotal role in the inception and exponential growth of the online community for JEFF Fitness, a South Africa-based startup. As one of the cornerstone members of the company, Seri contributed to its remarkable expansion from a modest team of 15 to a robust workforce of over 100 within a year. Under her stewardship, the JEFF community grew from the ground up to a thriving network of over 70,000 members. Seri was instrumental in developing a unique platform, revolutionizing the approach to health and wellness.
Now serving as the Director of the Signature Collective & Marketing, Seri is dedicated to supporting the 3,000-strong alumni of Signature leaders, fostering a vibrant community of trailblazers.
Seri now calls Franklin, Tennessee home, where she enjoys a fulfilling family life with her spouse, two young children, and a pair of beloved dogs.
