Are You Balancing Your Way to a Breakdown?

Feeling overwhelmed?  Isabella York is a dedicated working mother and knows a lot about balance. She works for Balsam Hill, a purveyor of Artificial Christmas Trees in traditional and modern styles. She is here today to help us learn how to balance our life, work and family without having a breakdown. 
Most women pride themselves for being excellent multi-taskers - and for good reason. It takes tremendous skill to balance your career, love life, family life, and social life. While there are the lucky few who seem to be born with superb acrobatic skills - sauntering on the tightropes of life in high heels - there's the rest of us who stumble, even in our comfiest flats. We look around at the other women who seem to have it all. We tell ourselves "That's what I want!"  Fueled by the idea that we can have everything, we set off to fulfill our dreams. That is, until one day, we realize that there's still something missing. To avoid experiencing another bout of self-pity, here are the top four signs that you're "balancing" your way to a breakdown.

1. Despite your best efforts, you still feel like you've accomplished little in life.  Remember how, when you were a kid, you had so many big dreams? One day you wanted to be a ballerina, the next day, an astronaut. Now, that type of idealism or self-belief can be a beautiful thing - but only if you can balance it with a realistic outlook. Yes, you can accomplish a lot of great things. But bear in mind that when you have too much on your plate, somethings gotta give. When you decide, for example, to get a six-figure job that requires 80-hour work weeks, you can't expect to have enough time to go to all of your kid's little league games and PTAs.
2. You're becoming forgetful. For some reason, you can't remember the date without a calendar or your PDA to help you out. You remember your boss's birthday but always seem to forget your wedding anniversary. Or you remembered to pack your kid's lunch but forgot that you were supposed to head the annual business review for your company.
3. You can't shake off your "grass is always greener" mentality.  You're never really happy with where you are. Every company and boss that you work for has issues. Career-wise, you're lagging behind your friends. These are all hallmarks of a "Grass is Always Greener" mentality. Dissatisfaction is the resulting emotion behind this mindset; and instead of encouraging you to perform better or to do something to improve your lot, this mentality promotes indecision. Should you feel that your thoughts are snowballing towards self-doubt or self-pity, stop. This mentality will only derail you from discovering the right balance in your life.
4. You're just going through the motions of your daily routine. This last sign is short, sweet, and straightforward. When life becomes an empty routine and you start asking yourself "Is this it?", chances are, you've spent too much time juggling life and not enough time appreciating it. Once this realization sinks in, take the time to reevaluate the balancing act that you've been doing. Perhaps in trying to accomplish too many things at once, you've lost sight of what's truly important - your happiness.

Personally, I don't think it's possible to have "everything" that you want. But take it from Mick Jagger, we may not always get what we want, but most of the time, we do get what we need. So stop yourself short of a breakdown by learning to appreciate what you have and to accept that you can't have it all.
How do you know when you have too much on your plate?
(Photo by lululemon athletica)