Balance part 4 (Day 129)

The key problem I have with balance philosophy is that it assumes nothing ever falls apart or goes differently than planned. Today's balance philosophy tells us that if only we were balanced enough, we could pile our plates higher and higher with utter peace of mind and nothing would ever go wrong.

What a load!

Plodding along under this philosophy we try to do our best and take on everything, say yes to everything we can, until one day it all just falls on top of us. Then, we sit on the floor surrounded by broken plates and beat ourselves up because if only we had enough balance, this wouldn't have happened.

At least, I do.

The truth is that if nothing is going differently than planned at least sometimes in your life, you're probably not doing much. Bodybuilders strive for safety in their workouts so they don't permanently injure themselves but they understand that their muscles will never grow unless the tissue is torn. The same is true in life. You don't know what you're capable of unless you push your limits and you never become capable of more unless you push past those limits. That means that, at least some times, all of your proverbial plates are going to fall. They're just going to.

Can you strive to keep them in the air longer and longer? Yes. Can you hone your craft and eventually be able to keep even more plates in the air? Absolutely. Can you do any of that without having the occasional dropped and even broken plate? Not a chance.

You can, however, pick up the plates and try again.

Sometimes things fall apart. Sometimes we even fall apart. It's just a fact of life. When the falling apart happens you can sit around beating yourself up, or you can take a breath, dust off, and try again. That's how you get better, how you learn.

In review:

• Total and ongoing unbalance is unhealthy
• Rigidity in the pursuit of perfection is both unhealthy and unrealistic
• It's important to understand where your limits are so you know when it's time to add more
• It's also important to understand that sometimes the plates are just going to fall, and that doesn't make you a failure. It makes you human. Don't be fooled into thinking that nobody else breaks plates just because they've swept up the mess by the time you see them again. We all do it. It's a fact of life. Continuing on after the plates fall is the important part.