It's Like Riding A Bike

I was interviewed on my friend Nicole’s podcast Bubbles & Biz recently and she asked me, “With running my own business, how do I balance everything?”

My answer may surprise you, but I will explain my answer just like I did with Nicole.

My answer was: “It’s like riding a bike.”

But I don’t mean it like that.

When you ride a bike you have to shift your weight from one side to the other. You have to put energy and effort on the left side to move forward, and then you can do it on the right side. Doing that over and over again gets you to where you are going.

You can’t possibly push both sides at the same time, and if you do nothing you fall over.

If we start thinking about our responsibilities as things we can give energy to for a moment, it makes life much more manageable. Knowing that you don’t have to give your job 150%, 365 days a year gives you relief that “this too shall pass.” There are times where we feel like we are neglecting our friends because work is calling. But if you are practicing true balance, there should come a time in the year/season where you can start logging off the computer at 5 and spending time with friends. And when your friend calls at 11 pm with a meltdown, that’s another opportunity to practice those bike riding skills. You may need sleep, but your friend needs you.

If your responsibilities don’t feel like riding a bike, then maybe you need to make some adjustments. Just like riding a bike, it does take practice to become skilled at it. Are you able to shift your weight to what matters at that moment and come back to the others?

You can listen to my Bubbles & Biz episode here. Happy riding!