Balance is hard.
By it's very definition, balance is hard. Things are rarely naturally balanced, it's something that always has to be monitored, adjusted and implemented. UGH. Who can even do that? Whenever I look at my life and realise that I'm not at my optimal happiness level, it's usually because something has thrown me off balance. It could be - not having enough work, having too much work, not enough socialising, too much socialising, not enough exercise, not enough painting, too much food etc etc. It's like we're all Goldilocks rummaging through the Three Bears house. Everything has to be *juuuuust* right. Or we're screwed. Nobody wants porridge that's too cold.

It always takes me a while to realise the see-saw is askew. Suddenly I stand back and go oh shit, why am I ass up in the air? Or, ass flat on the ground. Can't I just be hovering perfectly on my see-saw with minimal effort? Apparently not. I realised this week that I hadn't painted in many weeks. This is always a huge key factor of happiness for me, and whenever I'm not doing so well, that's usually the first thing to be blamed. I just need it. Ya know? Everyone probably has their thing like that, maybe yours is exercise or seeing movies and spending time with your Mum. Whatever your ecosystem of happiness entails, make sure you balance that shit out. You deserve it. Sure, every now and then we have to sacrifice time in areas and gain time in others, but the focus always needs to come back to getting them all balanced perfectly. Like a tight rope walker, sure - they may lean too far to the left, then overcompensate and lean to far to the right. But if they weren't always aiming for the middle - they'd fall off at that very first overshot lean. Smack on the floor. So if we always have our perfectly balanced middle point in mind, even when we sway to one side or the other, we'll always be coming back to that point. Know your perfect balance - and strive for it. Even if you don't quite get there every day or every week, just knowing where it is will bring you closer to achieving it. I need to remind myself of this quite frequently, I just suddenly realise I'm in a slump, and balance is always the best fix. Balance it out.