Photo credit: Graphic created by Evan Brooks using Wix.
Now, more than ever, it is important to find balance between our work, schooling and personal lives. With the news of the spring semester being online again, there is a deep reflection point reached — we all should reevaluate how we are balancing our lives.
For most, the main pieces that take part in the balancing act are work, schooling/personal learning or growth and personal lives. Work includes anything from your job(s) to a full-fledged career. Schooling would be WCU classes for us, but it could also be personal learning or growth. This could be anything from trying to learn a language, to ensuring you are continuing the path of being a life-long learner. Lastly is our personal lives, including our health, both mental and physical, social and family life and everything in between.
Work is important because it provides the means to obtain items that may aid in the other two categories. Your career may also provide fulfillment and a higher purpose to your life. If you are in a career that does not make you feel fulfilled, I highly recommend you reevaluate your situation and ensure you are passionate about what you are doing.
Personal learning allows for mental growth, opening new doors to opportunities you may not have had before. Learning, meaning schooling, is important because it helps provide the necessary tools to reach the career you want and to help lead you towards your passion.
If you don’t enjoy what you are learning/studying towards, then it is important to also question why you are taking the time to learn it. Your time is valuable, which is why you should spend it learning things that are both interesting and useful to you.
Arguably the most important of the areas, your personal life helps define who you are and who you will become. If your social life is spent with those that are a bad influence on you, then you will become the worst of the group. Spend time with those that will help you grow. A way to help grow your network of people is to branch out and join groups.
In an Arizona State University article published by the Live Well Blog, it is stated that you should “find clubs or events that fit your interests … By joining clubs and events, you can find new friends and people who inspire you. It also expands your social network and gives you skills that you can benefit from in the future.”
https://wellness.asu.edu/blog/finding-balance-amid-busy-college-life
By joining groups that interest you, there is a high likelihood that you will meet others that hold similar interests, allowing for possible lifelong connections. These connections are great for mental health. Even though most organization interactions may occur online today, they can help set up the foundation for when you can meet in person. Interactions also help show you how you are not alone in this world and not experiencing what is happening alone.
Being online for classes also means sitting at a desk close to, if not all, day. Make sure you take the time to get outside and to walk around; give yourself time to exercise, as it is strongly linked to mental health. The more active you are, the better you will most likely feel. It is important to change your position when feeling a certain way.
If you are feeling unmotivated, sad, angry, et cetera, change your movement. If you are sitting experiencing that emotion, move around. The sheer act of changing your body’s activity will help change your emotional state as well. Find balance in your life by knowing what needs to be balanced. Take care of your work, continue to learn and grow and ensure that your personal life is all in order while taking the steps you need to be fulfilled with life.
Evan Brooks is a third-year Business Management major with minors in Economics and Civil and Professional Leadership. EB0916132@wcupa.edu