Brave Balance

High level acrobatics performed on a bar, a vault, the floor, and a precarious beam requires bravery. It’s difficult to fathom the perseverance required to perfect flips, turns, endurance, and power on the road to becoming an elite Olympic gymnast. Simone Biles’ withdrawal from the final individual all-around competition in the Olympic Games to focus on her mental health may be her bravest twist yet.   

Struggling with balance is real. Not a sobriety-line-walk, or on a standup paddle board; rather, life-balance. Society-seedlings are planted throughout our lives: you can have it “all.” A thriving career, a happy family, and an abundant social calendar.

When my kids were young, I was in the family-rearing season. With four children under six, there was zero balance; my attention was focused on keeping them fed, clean, and away from poisons. Now that they’re independent, I have time to step up my career, and pick up balls I may have left undribbled. Seasons will continue to morph and shapeshift, and I get to decide how to define balance, choose my terms, and figure out what best serves me. 

Movement, mindful-meals, sleep, and quality home-time are my non-negotiables. When these are dialed in, I feel energized, aligned, courageous, and better able to serve. You’re not what you do, the model car you drive, what school your kid gets into, nor the Gatsby parties you host. You are a being, a being inhabiting a physical form. If the world’s greatest Olympic acrobatic athlete can self-advocate and reserve her right to respect whole-health, what’s stopping you?