Today’s dot was written by Gage Olson from Minot State University’s leadership class
Balancing life, work, school, and college athletics can feel overwhelming. It can be easy to think everything is equal in importance. Every assignment, every shift, every practice, every competition, every event. When you do this, eventually something will slip through the cracks of life.
The overload doesn’t always seem obvious. Most of the time, it’s the small things that start to go first. Missed assignment, a bad practice, or just feeling exhausted from a busy day. These things build up slowly until it deeply affects your mindset and performance.
Balance isn’t about doing everything perfectly. It’s about knowing what matters most in the moment. That means school comes first some days. It could also mean athletics come first on other days.
Responsibilities are hard to balance. They are like Yin and Yang. Opposites working together to achieve balance. You can’t always give 100% to everything at the same time, which is okay. Balance comes from adjusting and realizing perfection isn’t achievable, which means you should give yourself some grace.
Next time you feel overwhelmed, ask yourself this simple question. What needs my attention the most right now? I bet you’ll find the right answer.
