I moved to Chile in February 2003 for a six-month study abroad program. Two days before leaving, I was diagnosed with mono. I remember coming home from my goodbye visit to GAC to tell my parents that yes - I had the kissing disease. And yes - I was going on a 14 hour flight to a new country with mono, which can wear some people out for weeks to months.
My program director told me to take it easy during orientation, so I did, and luckily, I had the shortest and mildest bout of mono I've ever heard of. Could I have panicked and delayed my trip? Yes. Could I have expected the worst? Of course. Part of my life mantra is to expect the best - and I don't just mean expect it, but BELIEVE that it will actually happen. There is a whole series called "The Secret" which my mother-in-law introduced me to - it talks about the laws of attraction and how positive thinking attracts positive results. (The Secret might have to be its own blog post one day).
Today I'm focusing on the fact that life happens and we have to balance what comes at us. BUT, if we ever find that we are off balance, or aren't balancing the right things, we become complacent, stagnant, uninspired.
Right now my life is arguably the craziest it's ever been. New marriage, new pet, three grad school classes, and I'm starting a new job tomorrow morning. What?! Time for myself?? Hardly. This year I had to give up on American Idol and America's Next Top Model altogether. But the things I am doing are MUCH more inspiring than reality television.
I was nervous to start the part-time MBA program while working full time. I didn't think I would have time to myself. However, balancing acts require you to be more creative with your time. Time becomes more of a commodity, more valuable. Balancing acts require you to prioritize, focus on the things that really matter during the little free time you have. And accomplishments - like the final I'm going to take on Wednesday, or the promotion I got - they make the craziness all worth it.
Some days I have to tell myself to breathe, but really, if I didn't do these things, I would be wasting life. Don't get me wrong, I can relax with the best of them, but I also value the things that keep me busy. Glamour's editor-in-chief, Cindi Leive, once wrote about her early days as a staffer. She would sleep four hours a night, putting in 12 hour days at the office and going out with friends and coworkers every night. She said that life is too short to be sleeping. While I have to disagree that sleep is a waste of time (!), I do agree that we don't always focus our time where we want to, and we hesitate to take on challenges, interests, and hobbies. Though I'll one day be extremely thrilled to graduate, I'm sure at that point I'll take on other interests, such as community ed oil painting, Italian cooking, golf lessons, or heck, maybe have children! These things fulfill our lives and make us excited to get up in the morning. I've spent plenty of time worrying about not having enough time to get it all done, but in reality, it will all get done, and I will be excited by the result. As I head into my first day tomorrow with the serious beginnings of a head cold, I realize that's just part of the package, and I'll be fine, and I'll focus on the good parts and love every minute along the way.
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