New for 2025-----What is Balance?

 What is Life Balance?  I think it is something different for each of us because we are each unique individuals.  Over the years, life balance has become very important to me.  Now a days it is often called Wellness in some fashion.  So, why is it important (at least to me)? Because it holds me accountable.  

I guess it is somewhat like writing or setting new goals, for me the difference is that accountability is much more frequent.  I gained the knowledge I have thus far (and it is limited) from my employment at Intermountain Healthcare from 2007-2020.  They literally saved my life--more on that later.

I use a whiteboard to track my balancing items and re-assess as is necessary.  That prevents me from failing for 10 or 11 months and keeps me on my toes to account for my choices.  

I consider 2016 to be my healthiest year of my life and my most balanced.  But to get the full picture of how my life was saved, I have to go back a little further--after all the best year doesn't come without effort before.  So I go back to 2009 which is the year I started walking to relieve some stress and the grieving of my husband who passed away in 2008.  Intermountain Healthcare (I will refer to them as IHC from this point on) was developing the "Live Well" program.  I thought it was awesome.  My grief counselor challenged me to walk just 10 min each day with no thoughts.  This took some work.  In fact, it was very difficult to have no thoughts.  But I gradually got it and it felt freeing to me, like I was being unleashed into the world that I didn't even realize I had been holding back so much.

I was very out of control in many ways/areas of my life.  After my husband's passing my in-laws made sure that I had no transportation, no place to live and had to leave the ward which was a stable factor in my life.  It was a difficult spot for me.  I literally was lost and had lost total control of decision making, right and wrong, looking back now, I just survived.  Thankfully my 'family' at IHC stepped in and assisted me.  This is when I was taught about the Live Well program and what I could benefit from it.  As I was learning about it, I was also walking more and more.  My intention was not to lose weight, but just to get that exercise which was helping me work through my grief.  

I had a Doctor appointment and my weight had dropped 20 pounds.  I was pretty happy about that, and shocked.  That day is the day I decided to put my efforts and focus into more than just walking for conquering the grief, I decided to walk for prizes, for health, for a better way of life. Just short of a year's time I lost 85-90 pounds, walked my first 5k race (I never would have imagined that I would walk a race), walked nearly every single day, was able to stop taking blood pressure medications, cholesterol medications and was not anywhere near being pre-diabetic.  It felt good when I didn't even know I had felt badly.  I continued with the Live Well Program and fulfilling each level as best as I could and I became a very strong advocate of the program if not the strongest advocate for the program.  There were many contests/videos/classes that I attended to continue to achieve success in the program and therefore in my life.  

This all culminated to a tremendous victory when in 2014 I was nominated by my co-workers and received the award for 2014 Live Well Hero at Intermountain.  I was more than surprised and very pleased.  

So what was it that program held that made me feel so good and work so hard to accomplish a huge change in my life?  There were 5 simple categories.  The categories used today are different, but I have stuck to these 5 because that is what I learned with and they still work for me.

1.  LiVe Connected  

2.  LiVe Secure

3. LiVe Engaged

4.  LiVe Healthy

5. LiVe Happy

These five seemingly simple topics/standards are what saved my life then and what keep me on track still today and I plan to put back into place for my future.  They gave me guidance at a time where I felt I had none.

There are many subtopics that fall into these top 5 categories.  I have had times where I have excellent structure and I stick to it like glue to paper.  Then I have had times where I look at it now and then and do a couple of things.  Most currently,  I have lost a little of my diligence in each of them and haven't actually used my whiteboard.  I have felt off my mark and have worked on it from time to time, but not as much as I know I need to be successful at it and to find my balance in life. This takes me to the healthiest, best year of my life as far as balance goes, 2016.  

As I continued my walking, I participated in quite a few 5k's and one day as I had increased my steps and length of walking, I asked a co-worker what was next.  He told me I should try a 1/2 marathon.  I told him there was simply no way I could ever do that.  He told me you don't have to jog or run, you can walk.  It turned out to be excellent advise and he quickly became my 'coach'.  If you know anything about me, I did run, or participate in a 1/2 marathon and I was frightened in the beginning and when I came to the end I looked up and saw my son and two daughters in the stand and it felt amazing to feel that support.

After the first 1/2 marathon, I really discovered how much I enjoyed the racing.  The ambiance at the top of the race, the excitement people show as they are standing freezing for an hour or so bundled in the aluminum emergency blanket hands warming over the firepots all just thrilled me.  But what I didn't like was the blisters under my toenails.  I decided to set a goal for 2016 of participating in sixteen 1/2 marathons.  I knew that I would not be able to do it if I had blisters which I seemed to get in some fashion at every race.  So I went and had my toenails surgically removed at the end of 2015.  First one foot and then the other.  I didn't have a vehicle at this time so this is what I wore walking to and from the bus to get where I needed to go.  (It is my husband Kelly's giant slippers which protected his feet for many a day and I utilized them well .

Those were the days!  Because of the LiVe Well program, my health, spirituality, stamina, attitude, finances, engagement, were all in very good places and I was feeling so good.  At one of the first races I did in 2016 someone was holding this sign.  It made me laugh, and I felt like it was just for me.

I decided as I have thought about what I can do to gain that balance back, is to get back to those basics.  I lack in each one of them.  So I am hoping for 2025 to be my go back year, so to speak, working steadfastly to bring back the balance into my life and it will take a lot of work to do this and I will work very hard to be ready in 2026 just 10 years later to take on 16 races again -- no Marathons, but 16 half marathons will be what I am working toward.  I am older, heavier and hopefully smarter and I am feeling good about this goal.

At the end of 2016 here are the medals from the 15 half marathons and 1 full marathon and they were heavy.  As I experience my successes and set backs in this coming year, I hope my readers will get to know the real me and what has defined my life to go in the directions I have chosen.  I am blessed everyday and very grateful to have a good spiritual upbringing which is the foundation of all my actions yesterday, today and tomorrow.