When Balance Isn’t Possible

My IG feed is blowing up with people talking about balance and burnout. To set boundaries to avoid burnout. But what if balance isn’t possible? What if you are currently in a season of hustle that is unavoidable? It feels really hard to even begin to know what balance looks like because what you’re doing has value for yourself or your family. 

Well I’m here to be another voice. It’s okay to be in the hustle and still find small boundaries. It’s okay to find balance even in a season of intense hustle. I have always been one to create pretty solid boundaries in my business around my time and family. Until last year, I really didn’t have a choice but to lean into the hustle. The Lord called us into a new job for my husband and it has not been easy for us as a family. But we felt so strongly this is where He called us, we’ve stayed put. Enter my little business that I had big dreams for and the Lord started blessing it greatly. 

I went from really firm boundaries and balance to having no choice but to say yes to almost every opportunity that was put in front of me. It’s hard to turn down a paying job when you desperately need it for your family. I can’t say it wasn’t hard, I worked really hard last year. But it was such a gift. One I will not take for granted. 

So how did I do it? 

I put my head down and did the hard thing. I had to lean on my husband and hire babysitters more than normal. I set hard lines for things like my son’s birthday being off limits and recharged a lot on holidays. My workouts became a nonnegotiable. Moving my body is therapy for me and that was something I did not skip. I showed up for my family and was all in for them when it was family time.

What now?! 

Well not much has changed and this sweet business I love continues to grow. I am trying to have healthy physical habits in the middle of Fall busy so I can keep up. I blocked off the majority of my Saturdays to be mom in September and October. I want to show up for them as much as possible. 

I used to not schedule ANY sessions in December and I will likely work until December 22 like I did last year! I feel strongly about being equipped to do what needs to be done. I am here for it! If movement and training your body for endurance is equipping you, do that. If you it is being fed by a weekly bible study for an hour or two, go there and be fed. If you feel like you’re in that place of not even knowing where to start to find balance. It’s okay to start where your are, find the small nonnegotiable. To find tiny spaces that fill you and set a hard boundary. Everything is a season and it’s okay to lean into a season of hustle if that’s where you find yourself! 

We can do hard things! 

As I was thinking on finally posting this, I had a few things to add. I was raised by two entrepreneurs. One that literally started her business in our kitchen when I was 3. My siblings and I were all raised smack dab in the middle of a growing business. Which meant we had a front row seat to hard work. Late nights, early mornings, working all day long for weeks and months and years. Gosh, what a gift. We saw real life hard work and grit in action. 

As I was thinking on this I realized, we as a generation shy away from hard things. That is a major generalization, but it’s also a reality. So hear me when I say to you, and to myself, we can do hard things. We can work hard for a season, if that is what is being asked of us. I am straight up tired! But this business is being blessed and I am going to step up for my family right now. If you’re in this season, I see you friend. I am standing with you and making a difference for my family. Showing our kids that hard work and grit have value. Hopefully showing them when they are faced with hard things, they can do it too.