Trying to Find a Balance

I have gone back & forth on how to go about this topic so that it doesn’t make me sound like I have a problem, but there is no way for me to do that in this moment, so stick with me & I will explain myself.

I am a person who really enjoys cultivating a life where she is very educated on the things she loves. I spend a lot of my time reading, researching and consuming whatever I can when it comes to topics that I find fascinating or, when people in my life that I love, care about something, I will start to learn more about it so that I can talk to them about it in a meaningful way. This results in a very all consuming way of thinking for me sometimes.

This relates to me & my sports fandoms because this time of year, all of my favorite sports are on at the same time. This past weekend was the most ideal weekend to me because Formula One, Premier League, College Football, and NFL was on. I was the happiest girl in the world. The tricky part of this time of year is due to all of them happening at the same time, it consumes my day to day & all available free time I have to make sure I am keeping up with each team as closely as possible. I am consistently refreshing my feeds and watching every game as in real time as possible, normally using my IPad as a second screen when sporting events over lap. This is how I enjoy my Fall weekends. I like to sit in my comfy clothing with my snacks & watch ball. That’s all a girl can ask for. Literally my dream date. But, when days like last Saturday morning happen, it forces me to look in the mirror & really touch grass.

On Saturday, even though Formula One & college football was on, I found myself in a spot of not having anything that I wanted to really sit & watch until mid afternoon. As a morning person, this was an amazing development for me but also, it kind of forced me to realize how many other aspects of my life I have been ignoring. The other things that I like to do outside of sports viewing & talking about them that make me feel content & recharged after a long week. It’s like when you look at something for a really long time & everything begins to look really fuzzy as you hyperfocus on one spot & everything else falls away around you then, once you snap out of it you see the full picture again. I realized that’s what I have been doing with sports this Fall.

So, Saturday morning I forced myself to touch grass. To go out & enjoy a Fall morning in the city before everyone else is fully awake. Being a morning person in NYC on the weekend is fantastic because most of the city doesn’t fully wake up until 11 am. I decided that after I adulted at my dentist appointment to wander around downtown. I spent my time at my favorite cafe for breakfast, went to a few of my favorite bookstores, & just walked through the still asleep streets of Soho. It really was a much needed reality check. That there are other things that I enjoy doing outside of watching sports. This sounds crazy. I realize that as I am typing it in real time.

All of this is to say, or ask really, am I the only one? I can’t be right? It forced me to implement a morning like that on the weekends from now on. One where I can enjoy my other hobbies like going to the art museum or wandering around bookstores. I came back home & I felt rejuvenated in a way. Excited for the rest of the day. Really, it gave me just enough positive energy to sweat out F1 qualifying and my college football games.

This is your sign to give other neglected hobbies or forms of enjoyment a moment of your time. It will spark a joyous feeling.I hope this is relatable in some way to you. It may not be sports but it could be something in your life where you are letting it consume you in such a way that you forget the other parts of your life that you enjoy. Don’t let that happen.

I hope you all have a glorious week & talk soon.