Yes, I'm Aware It's August

Balance is not learned in a month! And balance is deceptive; sometimes to achieve personal balance one must surgically extract all elements not related to one's most important goals - blogging, for example. The bad news is that I am in fact a terrible blogger. The good news is that I have experienced personal growth while still focusing on my personal balance. What have I learned?

For starters, the most difficult part of reaching your own equilibrium is deciding what is truly important to you, and then recording it. You may have to confront some difficult truths. To my horror, vanity appeared on my list and I could not honestly remove it; I like appearing well-groomed and have been forcing it into my schedule. Far better to just acknowledge it and plan accordingly. Another surprise was that my current job doesn't make the list. I still have it, because paying my bills is still a priority. But I no longer stress as much about it, because when written in black and white, I can see that I truly do not care as long as I still receive a paycheck.

I also learned that the priority list is subject to change at a moment's notice. This really should not have been a surprise, as I wake up a different person every day; however, it was still jarring. Like most people, I had never made it a habit to make time to reflect on what was important to me on a regular basis; I merely assumed that what was a high priority to me in the past was still a present imperative. But I receive new information every day and have only a limited supply of energy. It is up to me to process new knowledge and adjust accordingly. I never realized this before - of course, I knew I didn't want the same things now that I wanted when I was seven or twenty - but I was unaware of why.

Let's use a ridiculous example. Currently exercise has a fairly high personal ranking, as I have discovered it helps me stay not only slim, but sane. Now, pretend that many studies were done that conclusively proved eating birch bark had all the benefits of exercise, was superior in preventing Alzheimer's disease, and made the complexion radiant. I'm guessing exercise would get crossed off my list and replaced with "obtain birch bark" and "find tasty, easy birch bark recipes" because putting a great deal of time and exertion would then be a waste.

It may be a preposterous example, but is it any more absurd than throwing life energy at something that is no longer important to you? It would be like buying the Barbie dream house you wanted when you were four instead of paying the mortgage on your current house (provided having a roof over your head is a priority for you.)

So take some time to reflect and unearth your true priorities before you waste any more time or money on false ones.