“Work, sleep, family, fitness, or friends. Pick three.”
Work life balance. It’s a thing. An illusive concept we all attempt to master. When I read Randi Zuckerberg’s (former Facebook director of market development) two cents on the steep upward climb that is entrepreneurship, I felt an overwhelming sense of contentment. Peace. I felt so much less…lonely.
“In order to kick ass and do big things, I think you have to be imbalanced.”
THANK YOU. Sure, I’d like to believe that it’s not true. I wish I could pretend that I’m killing it at Alchemy, growing my blog, writing the best nutrition articles My Fitness Pal has ever seen, being a rockstar friend/sister/daughter/girlfriend, eating kale salads, and sleeping seven hours a night. But guess what? I’m not. I haven’t in years, and I don’t plan on that changing anytime soon. I knew that starting a business meant sacrifices and I’m living proof.
I’ve learned some things along the way. If you try to do it all and do it all 100%, you will set yourself up for disappointment. There simply are not enough hours in the day. And that’s okay.
I could say “screw it” on the weekends when everyone is off and go brunching with my boyfriend and to the bar with my girlfriends; but I know very well that everything, EVERYTHING, comes with an opportunity cost. I am incapable of indulging in my social life without thinking about how that time could be spent on Alchemy or Hummusapien. I try really, really hard to make time for the little things, but it’s not easy. I don’t sleep like I used to. I wish I would wax my eye brows more often. I wish I prepared more food on the weekends. But when staff calls in sick and there’s three blog posts and two freelance articles I haven’t written, Sunday isn’t just an open book. There’s no such thing as disconnecting. This life is glamour and anxiety and publicity and panic and health and sickness and fear and joy all rolled up into one.
I love the ups, and I’ve learned how to rebound from the downs. I continuously tell myself that nothing good in life comes easy. Are there days where I wish I worked a “normal” 9-5 job? Hell yes. Would I be happy with life? Hell no. I live for the buzz of the restaurant industry, the unpredictable highs, the not-knowing-what’s-next kind of life. I don’t believe in ceilings. There’s always new ground to cover. But you can’t have that attitude if you’re not willing to accept that you will not and cannot excel at everything. Something’s gotta give. So you learn to embrace imperfection. You accept that you’re not perfect, that perfect is impossible, that perfect is in fact painfully boring.
This month I’ve partnered with KIND Snacks to share how I will Live KIND. every day™ in 2016. That means being KIND to my body, to my taste buds, and to my community. Because there are things in life that you must never sacrifice, no matter how long your to-do list is.
Be KIND to your body.
I will think of that one hour work out like a doctor’s appointment. I’ll wake up early on Saturday to finish Monday’s blog post so I can make it to that 10am Barre3 or Body Pump class without dwelling on remaining work during the whole lunge track. And when my knee starts to randomly hurt every time I squat, I’ll take a break and I’ll be okay with it. I’ll respect my body and let myself heal.
I will take a freaking BATH. I will light a lavender candle, blast “Champagne Supernova,” and pour myself a glass or three of malbec. I’ll sing really, really loudly.
I will walk to the coffee shop instead of drive and take the stairs to print my appointment notes. I’ll buy new workout pants because they’re bright blue and amazing and will most definitely make me more excited about exercising. I’ll make mindful decisions to stay active because I know how much it heals me mentally.
Be KIND to your taste buds.
Fuel your crazy life with delicious eats that power you through the day. That means organic spinach as much as it means dark chocolate (Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt KIND bar, anyone?!). I will see food as energy and recognize what foods make my body feel best, like chia pudding with raspberries and cacao nibs, hugh jass blueberry cacao smoothies, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on repeat. I will do my best to make homemade meals each week but not stress when homemade means microwaving an Amy’s burrito.
Be KIND to your world.
Don’t forget that you’re not the only person in the world that’s crazy busy! I will be patient, smile at new faces, and go out of my way to make some one’s day. I will buy a random person a cup of coffee and rest assured that those two dollars will make their week, guaranteed. I will do a random act of kindness just because. And when someone does the same to me, I will show gratitude. A little goes such a long way.
I will make time to call my mom and my grandma, even if it’s just a two minute “hi!” kind of call. I will bring my own coffee mug and water bottle to work every day. Little things can make a huge impact on this world, my friends.
Now it’s your turn. Leave a comment telling the world how you’ll Live KIND. every day™ in 2016! Be sure to also check out the KIND blog to see how their team is living KIND and follow along on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook (@kindsnacks + #LiveKIND).
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of KIND. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Hummusapien possible!
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Love this heartfelt, honest post. I truly believe that until you live out of your comfort zone, you don’t know what you are capable of accomplishing. I will donate all my old clothes to Goodwill, listen to my body during workouts, and buy more organic, sustainable foods!
Loved and needed this post right now! It’s so comforting to know you aren’t alone with your struggles in the world. I will prioritize fitness more and find more time for the people closest to me 🙂
I can only imagine how crazy life is running a business along with growing your blog as a business. I work a full time job and spend as much time as I can on the blog and it’s exhausting. But I get to leave my work at work more or less. If anything, know that you’re killin’ it! And it’s inspiring for others who want to do the same. 🙂
Love the post and the ideas behind it! I don’t think anyone is balanced in life they just do what is important to them and that’s what balance should be!
I love this post!! Thank you!! In these next couple days, I’ll become a mom and my whole world will change in ways I can’t imagine. I worry about balancing and prioritizing exercise and nutrition as I do today. I so appreciate your perspective and will re-read this in the upcoming weeks.
Love this whole post! When I was in grad school and working there were no ‘days off’ and no unplugging! I love the ‘In order to kick ass and do big things, I think you have to be imbalanced’ quote – that one’s going in my journal. 🙂 Keep up the amazing work!
Honest to god why are you SO freakin’ awesome!? I LOVE this. Great inspiration and great positivity you have! Love ya my fellow chickpea 😉
I totally resonate with your struggle to choose between important aspects of your life. I’ve defiantly been struggling with the balancing act of school, sports, clubs, and pursing my passions like blogging. I think in crazy times like this, it’s really important to give yourself grace (like taking that bubble bath) and accept that it’s okay if you don’t do it all.
Thank you for sharing! I work as a personal assistant for a lady with 10x as much going on as me…. am managing a gym that is under construction right now, am still in the “starting” process of my food business, and am writing for a magazine that is going through rebranding. I felt so much peace reading your words! It doesn’t have to be perfect and perfectly scheduled and always productive, and it’s not going to be, and that is ok! Yay! Thank you!
I am going to be completely honest. When I first found your blog I had a pit in my stomach because I want so badly to work with others in nutrition and wellness and your accomplishments are so real and inspiring. I am teetering on the edge of a career change from education to nutrition and am terrified of the uncertainty that comes along with it, and the fact that it’s a lot of hard work and I have put in soooo many hours teaching. I make excuses like “I don’t know EXACTLY the best approach to this” or “it will be too much money for another degree.” Thank you.
Alexis, I am so in love with the honesty here. While I’m not yet at the level of entrepreneurship as you, I definitely feel the same types of pressure – being a full-time student, growing a blog, keeping up with two jobs, and maintaining some sort of normal life. I think the moments where we stop and just breathe are the most important. Keep up the hard work girlie, you’re doing amazing things. <3
Ohhhh this is speaking to me. I have been really feeling this. And I’m the one who gets stressed very easily and tends to be negative or impatient with people close to me if they expect something from me and I’m busy or whatnot, which is NOT good. I’m learning to prioritize and take a chill pill haha
I love this post SO much, Alexis! You’re right, it is such a lie that we can do everything and have it all. We just can’t, so we choose what we want most. Thanks for just bringing it out and talking about it. Love this blog and love what you do. xoxo
Thank you for this post Alexis – I can completely relate and it’s nice to hear a fellow blogger acknowledge that it’s impossible to do it all. I have to frequently remind myself of it when I’m starting to get discouraged about being unable to keep up with everything.
Baths w/ malbec always help too 😉
Balance has become a new buzzword – so nice to hear a reminder that even balance isn’t possible and that’s okay! I sometimes feel guilty for having priorities, but if I didn’t nothing would get done! As long as you’re happy and fulfilled by the priorities you choose it’s all good 🙂 Thanks for the honest thought provoking post!
What an awesome blog post. This tells so much about the struggle a lot of entrepreneurial women go through, and don’t even recognize is happening. Thank you for sharing your experience! And KIND bars are exceptional! They make the best snack and refuel option for those busy days. I like to see them as Snickers in those commercials, where they bring you back to being “yourself”. Haha 🙂
I just love ya 🙂
This might be one of my fave posts of yours! Being successful comes with sacrifice – in a perfect world, we’d be doing everything that’s important to us but in reality, it’s near impossible. Pick your priorities and focus on those!
Oh, girl, this post speaks to me in so many ways. Life pulls me in slightly different directions than you, but the struggle is the same. Some days it kills me that I can’t do it all perfectly all of the time, other days I accept it. Also, I love that you aren’t too young for Champagne Supernova! 🙂
Love this post and how honest you are. I agree with one of the above comments that when I found your blog I wanted to have your life (nutritionist, running a health food restaurant, and having a successful blog). It takes hard work and you need to make sacrifices. I am now moving in a direction of work I want to be and realizing how much hard work it is. You are truly inspiring! I am going to be kinder to my body and mind in realizing I can’t do everything all the time.
This post spoke to me so much! As someone you just started a blog (this week!), and still working a full time job as dietitian elsewhere, I can already tell that balancing everything is going to mean life is a little imbalanced. Sacrifices will (hopefully) be worth it though, when I can run my own business one day! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Good for you for staring a blog! You’re gonna kill it!
I so love this post, Alexis! You are such an inspiration! Little things definitely do make a huge impact on this world – and kudos for being such an advocate for them! xx
Awww thanks Shashi! XO
You go girl! You are great and I enjoy coming to your blog every time that I visit! This year I, like you, have vowed to bring my reusable water bottle and coffee cup to work every day. I have recently started to take my coffee mug on long trips, and its now turning into my travel buddy! I am going to be kind to myself and get to my 7:00am yoga class 3 week days, and really try to cut sugar! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks my love!! Your goals sound just fabulous 🙂
PREACH sister. I feel you on everything you said, even though I know my craziness is only a fraction of your craziness. But like you said, there’s a cost that comes to doing something you love. It’s exhausting but when it’s something your passionate about, it’s worth every second.
My goal is to be kind to myself by taking an entire day off to relax once per week and NOT feel guilty about it. If I’m being realistic, it’s probably not going to happen, lol, but that’s my goal! 🙂
Absolutely loved this post 🍉🍓Totally printing it and keeping it as a reminder that I need to be kind to myself and that not everything can be 100% perfect. I will not overcommitt, and invest time and energy in only those opportunities that align best with my goals.