We all know how to juggle – maybe not in the circus clown sense but in the sense of life’s responsibilities we do. Some juggle better than others and that’s perfectly normal; no two of us are exactly alike and that is what makes us all uniquely special.

Some of us juggle household & family responsibilities, some of us juggle work responsibilities, and some of us juggle all of the above while others juggle family, work, household and playtime. Whatever you’re juggling it’s easy to miss one task from time to time or worse, to let your juggling become toggling and then a crash where it all, including yourself, comes tumbling down! This is where life becomes a whirlwind that leaves your mind spinning, not remembering details of the things you did, not being in the moment to enjoy the sweet spots in your life.

When you juggle too many things at once for long periods of time it’s easy to get flustered and lose your comfortable pace. Often when this happens many of us turn to food to calm our nerves and reward us for all that we do. More often the foods that are chosen as rewards are junk foods, sweet sugary snacks, oil laden deep-fried foods, gooey, soft, warming or cooling foods, alcohol, soda, extra-large coffee latte oozing with whipped cream…the list goes on; you’ve seen it or done it, we all have. After we have our way with food, we feel like a failure. We feel like we cheated our diet, our plan to eat better, to clean it up, to eat less. We justify, testify and crucify our behavior. Then we start all over again.

Life doesn’t have to be this way. Sure we have to juggle things all the time but it’s important not to take on too much at once. Learn to scale back, say no, keep limits and stay within them and keep up a pace that is comfortable for you personally. It’s okay not to “keep up” with the next guy; it’s better, even healthier to keep up with yourself!

When your juggling act gets out of hand and you struggle to keep it all in the air, when you let go of one or more things…don’t give up. Put it all down, take a look at what you have and decide what things you will pick up and what you will leave for later – plan your pace and get back in your race! Your race isn’t about winning, losing or qualifying, your race is about making your life run smoothly for you personally.

Take time to breathe, dream, be.