A very good question! I recently spent several months running two back to back election campaigns for the Labour Party here in the UK, while also running my coaching practice. There was all consuming, with no space for anything else.
I spent August on my allotment - which unsurprisingly had gone wild while I was on the campaign trail - and loved the calm I found there. It was also a chance to learn more about permaculture.
The space made me realise that I need to put myself first, second and third and "Reclaim My Time."
There's more to life than continually campaigning. But I do like to have a big project on the go! So, my latest passion project - inspiring and empowering women leaders in a world where they're overlooked and underestimated - is here on Substack.
I can relate to the feeling of feast or famine with life, work. I am very recently retired. I feel like I need to relearn my life, now separate from the work I had for 35 years that had very long and all consuming (but rewarding) hours and days. Let new synapses form. Yesterday I was thinking that I need to learn being important in my own life, unconnected from work. Develop a new identity in a way. This shows me that I so identified with that job and it's time to move on and put my energy into myself and my family in a way I never did or felt I was able to while working. Find abundance in my new life wherever I decide to take it. Thank you for this post. I'll be thinking about this a lot as I move forward.
Hi Debra, I think it's common for us to identify with our jobs and our work positions. It really becomes our identity. Retirement is another adjustment. Good for you for appreciating your new life! Retirement isn't an end; it's a beginning.
This! I am always struggling with wanting to do more, more, more while also wanting time for myself and my family. I think my adult kids do a better job of saying no and having balance and I’m actually learning from them. Thank you for all you do and for being a powerful example of knowing when to use your voice and when to use your heart.
What does balance mean to me? Great question. I have a teenage daughter, so balancing motherhood and my new fine arts business is a real challenge. My life was even more unbalanced years before motherhood. I was in a horrid marriage and a horrid job situation. I had no leisure time and worried constantly.
Then I got cancer, the game changer. I left the marriage and found a better, more fulfilling job. Despite my current balancing acts, I have made time for myself and feel life is as balanced as it can be now. At least I am doing what I love.
Your story resonated with me. For most of my life I have been trying to stuff about 30 hours of “doing” into a 24 hour day. Apparently I thrive on this, and at 73 I still find I have too much to do in too little time. I’ve cut back a bit because the stress of four years as President of my women’s club, on top of my volunteer work with Moms and a PT job I took post retirement (but I love!) has stressed me too much.
But more importantly, I’m looking at my 17 year old granddaughter who seems to be taking the same path… senior class presidency, athletics, other school activities, a job, etc. I love that she is enthusiastic and involved in so many positive endeavors, but I also see how exhausted and stressed she becomes. Has my example been a good or a bad thing for her?
This is a beautiful essay. Thank you for all you’ve done for Moms Demand Action and the Harris campaign. I hope you continue to create the lifestyle that serves you well, since that will allow you to continue to be a force for good!
For me, it’s less about balance and more about how the particular configuration of activities fits for me in a given moment. To others, I know my life looks unbalanced at times, but if I’m doing all I want and need to do over time, that’s good enough for me.
I can really relate to this feast or famine I’m also a Adher and single mum of an autistic daughter so I’m super tired and reevaluating my lifetime strong desire for novelty and trying to keep it separate from my career. As when they merge I feel very chaotic. When is your book coming out?
A very good question! I recently spent several months running two back to back election campaigns for the Labour Party here in the UK, while also running my coaching practice. There was all consuming, with no space for anything else.
I spent August on my allotment - which unsurprisingly had gone wild while I was on the campaign trail - and loved the calm I found there. It was also a chance to learn more about permaculture.
The space made me realise that I need to put myself first, second and third and "Reclaim My Time."
There's more to life than continually campaigning. But I do like to have a big project on the go! So, my latest passion project - inspiring and empowering women leaders in a world where they're overlooked and underestimated - is here on Substack.
I can relate to the feeling of feast or famine with life, work. I am very recently retired. I feel like I need to relearn my life, now separate from the work I had for 35 years that had very long and all consuming (but rewarding) hours and days. Let new synapses form. Yesterday I was thinking that I need to learn being important in my own life, unconnected from work. Develop a new identity in a way. This shows me that I so identified with that job and it's time to move on and put my energy into myself and my family in a way I never did or felt I was able to while working. Find abundance in my new life wherever I decide to take it. Thank you for this post. I'll be thinking about this a lot as I move forward.
Hi Debra, I think it's common for us to identify with our jobs and our work positions. It really becomes our identity. Retirement is another adjustment. Good for you for appreciating your new life! Retirement isn't an end; it's a beginning.
Sounds like you are doing a needed self evaluation. Good luck on that journey. It is part of life and it sounds it is needed. Best wishes.
Informative
Can’t remember where I heard this, but it has always stuck with me:
Balance is learning to live happily between effort and surrender.
This! I am always struggling with wanting to do more, more, more while also wanting time for myself and my family. I think my adult kids do a better job of saying no and having balance and I’m actually learning from them. Thank you for all you do and for being a powerful example of knowing when to use your voice and when to use your heart.
Excellent post, Shannon!
What does balance mean to me? Great question. I have a teenage daughter, so balancing motherhood and my new fine arts business is a real challenge. My life was even more unbalanced years before motherhood. I was in a horrid marriage and a horrid job situation. I had no leisure time and worried constantly.
Then I got cancer, the game changer. I left the marriage and found a better, more fulfilling job. Despite my current balancing acts, I have made time for myself and feel life is as balanced as it can be now. At least I am doing what I love.
Your story resonated with me. For most of my life I have been trying to stuff about 30 hours of “doing” into a 24 hour day. Apparently I thrive on this, and at 73 I still find I have too much to do in too little time. I’ve cut back a bit because the stress of four years as President of my women’s club, on top of my volunteer work with Moms and a PT job I took post retirement (but I love!) has stressed me too much.
But more importantly, I’m looking at my 17 year old granddaughter who seems to be taking the same path… senior class presidency, athletics, other school activities, a job, etc. I love that she is enthusiastic and involved in so many positive endeavors, but I also see how exhausted and stressed she becomes. Has my example been a good or a bad thing for her?
This is a beautiful essay. Thank you for all you’ve done for Moms Demand Action and the Harris campaign. I hope you continue to create the lifestyle that serves you well, since that will allow you to continue to be a force for good!
For me, it’s less about balance and more about how the particular configuration of activities fits for me in a given moment. To others, I know my life looks unbalanced at times, but if I’m doing all I want and need to do over time, that’s good enough for me.
I can really relate to this feast or famine I’m also a Adher and single mum of an autistic daughter so I’m super tired and reevaluating my lifetime strong desire for novelty and trying to keep it separate from my career. As when they merge I feel very chaotic. When is your book coming out?