For as long as I remember I have struggled with work life balance. If I wasn’t studying then I was working 6 jobs and crazy hours or on university placement all day and working at night. I was addicted to work. To add to this I also managed to somehow keep up my exercise and healthy eating.

Not only did this mean that I was constantly tired, but I was also moody and feeling slightly depressed. I didn’t enjoy life day to day but I was not able to say “NO” to anyone. This type of non-stop behavior resulted in me grinding my teeth from stress, isolating myself from social occasions and getting constant headaches and becoming regularly unwell.

It wasn’t until last year that I really noticed the fatigue, I was training for a half marathon, studying and working crazy hours. I got to August and ended up having to bail on running my half marathon as I was so exhausted and unwell to the point where I was having dizzy spells and my irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) was getting pretty bad.

So what changed?

For the rest of the year things got better, I went away to Queenstown in New Zealand and had the break I needed. I then came back and started working full time as a dietitian which meant I got my weekends back and I had some consistency and routine in my life.

From then I went away to Byron Bay (take me back!) and came home super inspired to start my own business and work as a dietitian in private practice. I decided to take my dreams and happiness into my own hands. I networked with people who inspired me and got help from my partner in how to start my own business. I listened to Podcasts that covered things I wanted to learn more about.

I taught myself to slow down and take time out for myself, this means saying “NO” when jobs or extra work was offered and going away for long weekends instead of working.

I also made sure that I see my friends regularly, as they keep me sane and put me in my place when I am stressed or reverting back to old habits.

What I have learnt?

After many years of treating my self less than kindly and working in positions that didn’t really make me happy I took the plunge. I decided to follow my heart and do what makes me happy.

I have learnt that in order to grow and improve as a person you need to step far out of your comfort zone. There have been times in the last few months where I have literally been shaking with fear to face new challenges. But I have faced them, and I am improving and developing my skills everyday.

What I want readers of this blog to take from this is that money isn’t everything, you don’t need to work crazy hours and miss on on trips away with friends and events with family. If you have a dream and you truly believe that you can make something of it then take the plunge.

If you think about it what do you have to loose?

Jess xx

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