Is the Pursuit of Living a BALANCED Life a Worthy Investment?

Is the pursuit of living a balanced life a worthy investment?

Yes, always! AND, doesn’t it often feel like a roller coaster of ups and downs and tradeoffs, and sacrifices? Yes, yes, and yes!

In the midst of building my career, running a business, and pursuing my dreams and goals, my body was on a roller coaster of balance and imbalance. Sometimes I would get it right and feel great, and other times my body would rebel and I would crash. Then somehow, I would slowly crawl out of the valley of imbalance and get back to it. Can you relate?

Like many growth-minded professionals and leaders, I’ve been on an ambitious and passionate road of creating the life and career of my dreams. Dreams that were born out of necessity and survival when I was very young. These long-ago formed dreams drove me to keep going even when it was hard, when I failed and even when my body and brain were waving the white flag to stop.

Culturally, I was rewarded for pushing my body and brain to the max. Messages like, “no pain, no gain” and “you are only as good as your last win” and many more, were ingrained in me and kept pushing me forward. I may have been achieving a few things along the way, but without me fully recognizing it, I was slowly becoming unwell and experiencing an imbalance I could no longer crawl out of easily. My body and mind were maxed out, but I couldn’t get off the treadmill of my old, survival needs mixed with cultural messaging and expectations that said I was weak if I slept, rested, slowed down, took an uninterrupted vacation or simply stopped for a breather to re-evaluate. I had bought into the cultural mindset of push, work-hard, achieve, win, sleep when you're dead, and sacrifice everything.

I am not saying we stop pursuing our dreams and goals or that we don’t have to work hard to achieve them. We do. And we want to (most of the time). There will be tradeoffs. There will be intervals of balance and imbalance. You are likely living the consequences of your trade-offs right now. Some of these tradeoffs we’ve made consciously, and others we have not.

Here’s the secret to managing our trade-offs and creating a life of balance:

• We have to be very clear about what trade-offs we are making, and we have to have a plan to make sure we are not pushing our brains and bodies out of homeostasis for too long. In other words, we have to match recovery to effort; letting go of our old mindsets and habits of all-out-effort without recovery.
• Our bodies need active recovery. Our balanced, fulfilled lives require us to equally invest in rest and recovery as much as we invest in effort. There will be times of all-out-effort to achieve a goal. The achievement of the goal will feel amazing, but we need to stop crossing the finish line face down. Achieving a balanced life is all about making conscious choices about our effort to recovery intervals. Our bodies know what to do when we give them the recovery it needs!

Want to dive more into this topic?

You are personally invited to join me for a Free Webinar Series.

The LeaderHealth? Reset Webinar Series - A Balanced Year Ahead.

Hi, I’m Dr. Shanna Teel, founder and CEO of Dr. Shanna Teel & Company and LeaderHealth?. Over the last 25 years, I've been working with leaders, teams, and organizations on how to transform their personal and professional habits to achieve more equilibrium and excellence.

LeaderHealth? is both a mindset and a methodology for creating healthier leaders, teams and organizations.

LeaderHealth? is here to help you navigate how to live and lead in a more balanced way. The time has arrived where we collectively stop trading health for success. We can still achieve great things, while also being healthy and fulfilled. LeaderHealth? is on a mission to develop professionals, leaders and organizations that drive and support health and well-being in very transformative ways, not just superficial ones.

Whether you are in a leadership role, an entrepreneur or you are a growth-minded professional, we are here to help you reset your health and wellness and learn to live and lead in a balanced way. If you are already on a good LeaderHealth Journey, we are here to help you continue to unlock what you need to create an extraordinary next chapter, personally and professionally.

LeaderHealth? Reset Webinar Series - A Balanced Year AheadTime Commitment: 30 Minutes per Webinar. Join us for One or All of the Webinars. Webinar Topics are stand alone topics.

Webinar Dates:

All webinars occur on Friday’s at 11:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Central Time (USA).

1. February 9, 2024: Take Back Control of What’s Most Important

2. February 23, 2024: Say Goodbye to Over-Functioning

3. March 8, 2024: Say Hello to Managing Stress in a New Way

4. March 22, 2024: Design Your Balanced Year Blueprint

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