I’ve heard various takes of the “you can’t have it all” mindset. The version that says “you can have it all, but not at the same time” doesn’t really ring true for me. Sure, when you account for different stages in your life, you can certainly have more opportunities and experiences than a single phase in life allows, but in the end, you don’t always get what you want.
The laws of supply and demand are based on the idea of limited resources.
The demands on my life both external and internal, self-impose and life imposed, are unlimited. Yet, my time is limited. My mental bandwidth is limited. My finances are limited. The rate at which I can learn and grow is limited.
Right now, I’m learning that my rest time is just as valuable a resource as my action time.If I miss out on living in the here and now, I’m missing out on my life. Rest is not only valuable for enjoyment, it’s valuable for preparing me to accomplish more growth.
That means cutting back, even on good things, to make time for rest. Such as:
Changing the sheets on my bed on an appropriate schedule
Cutting back on time spent scrolling through Facebook
Writing for my blog as often as I would like
Replacing nightly cooking with more leftovers
Shortening my Bible study time to a more manageable amount according to my schedule
I’m not even sure I would even know what the work life balance actually looks like if I saw it. I’m perpetually tired and quite frankly, a little stressed. I’m sure there are many more ways I could trim down my life to find more rest and peacefulness, but it stresses me out just thinking about making those changes. Instead, I make little changes here and there. Honestly, most of my life is an exercise in last minute prioritizing based on my current mental state. For now, that will have to do.
And on that note, I’m going to go read a book.