Part 5 of 5 on Balance, Balance, Balance!

We've finally come to our last part of this 5 Part Series on Balance.  It's sort of sad, huh?  :  )  I'll have to think of a 5 Part Series on something else to share.  We would have been done with this series days sooner, but you know what?  Life happens and there are some days when the last thing I want to do is write a blog.  

There I said it.  That was pretty easy, right?  Which leads me to the last tip on Balance:

Be honest with yourself and with others.

No, I mean REALLY be honest.  Take off that mask you're wearing that tells others "I am great!" "I'm so happy!" "My life is perfect!" "I can do it all, I can have kids AND a career!" "My marriage is fantastic, I have the BEST husband EVER!"  Shut up, because while we may be great at a few things, there are things that we flat out SUCK at, we're not ALWAYS happy, our lives AREN'T perfect, we can't do it all and do it all well, sometimes MARRIAGE STINKS, and sometimes HUSBAND'S SUCK!  How's that for honesty?

This topic has been hitting me hard lately.  I've heard sermons on it, read blogs about it, attended a seminar last week on it.  Now more than ever is the time to be 100%, walls down, masks off, completely and utterly honest with ourselves and with others.  Do you know that it is a FACT that people prefer honesty even when it means not hearing exactly what they want to hear?  And that honesty can actually improve your health?  Its true.

Of course, there is always a gentle way to say about everything while being honest and not hurting anyone's feelings or cutting people down.  Yet, the main person honesty is important to most is to ourselves.  When we're honest with ourselves, we are loving ourselves, respecting ourselves for who we are-who we've become and what we are becoming.  Is there something you're not being completely honest with yourself about?  Take a moment and really think about it.  Is there?  How does that area of your life make you feel?

When I'm honest with myself and with others, I usually see things clearly.  I can easily find solutions to problems.  

So that's it.  There's no GRAND FINALE to the end of this 5 Part Series on Balance.  Here is a summary, though, on the 5 Tips I've shared over the last several days:

1. Be okay when things fall through the cracks.  We're human.  Don't beat yourself up over it.
2. Take a nap!  Know your body and give it some much needed rest, for cryn' out loud!  Even if it means sleeping in your car. :  )
3. TIME BLOCK!  Time block everything.  This might be one of the most popular, yet under-used tips out there.  IT WORKS!
4. Pray, Meditate, and Journal.  Let your feelings out.  Pray about issues you're having, meditate to clear your head of the nonsense, and keep an online and/or private journal to let your feelings out (instead of posting passive-aggressive status updates on Facebook, perhaps!) 
5. Be honest.  With yourself first, then with others.

I hope you've enjoyed my series.  Come back often for other fun and informative topics.  Contact me for questions, and leave comments if your are so inclined.  Only HONEST ones, though!