Glad You Called 2: The Balancing Act

When you open up a new page in your life, move somewhere different and find yourself in an unfamiliar environment, you are likely to be in the need of an anchor or some kind of a foundation, upon which you can start building up. Often times, you hang on to your hobbies and favorite activities — you continue doing the sports you like, you read books, or you travel as much as you used to before.

You might also try to set up the same routine which you were so used to before: you wake up at the same time, you have the usual breakfast. Then, you go to the library at the same hour, study, have lunch with friends. Essentially, when your lifestyle is the same as before, well, then settling down can’t be that bad after all. At the end of the day, it seems that routine can indeed help us become more familiar with a place, and perhaps even to start feeling at home.

So after the realizations from my last blog, I was resolute to set up my own new lifestyle. I lied down on my bed and I thought: what would be my starting point for finding balance?

Nothing came out of my initial thought process, so I quickly gave up and went on stuck like that for a few days. The next time I lied down, I went down memory line, once again in a desperate search for an idea. This time around, my mind took me to the beginning of second year in my bachelors studies when I had just taken up a new extracurricular activity: Mentorship. I was supposed to guide a group of 20 first-year students through their first months at university. I had to show them the ins and outs of their new university and help them find some order in the chaos that uni life could be in your freshmen year.

I had to lead about 10 sessions, each on a separate topic. I remember walking up to the classroom before my first session — completely terrified. What was I supposed to tell these people, how was I supposed to grab their attention and make them listen for even a brief 15 minutes…

So there I stood in front of the group, scared from within, but forced by my role to project an image of confidence. I had decided to deliver a simple message to my listeners. And as expected from a true “experienced” second-year business student, I drew a framework on the flipchart in front of my group. But it was not an intricate graph or a table with countless rows and columns. My figure was a simple isosceles triangle, with three ugly drawings at each end, and three takeaway messages on the side of the figure.

In one of the angles, there was a pile of books symbolizing academic life and the most important task for which they had taken this new big step — studying. My message, written unevenly with capital letters, read: “STAY FOCUSED”. Often, in a new setting, surrounded by many unknown variables (such as people, classes, activities), we can forget what are we are “here” for. I hoped that my message would be a guiding light for these young people, so they never loose themselves in the unknown overwhelming environment.

In the second angle, I drew a football — my very own token of extracurricular activities or as normal people might call them, hobbies. Here, my note read: “HAVE FUN”. Try new things, join student associations and interest clubs. Play a sport which you’ve always wanted to but never had the chance to play. Attend an event on a topic you have never heard before. Get out of your comfort zone, you are in your bachelors only once, but you have plenty of time to enjoy it! And with hindsight, I would also like to add: Don’t forget to do the things you like. Read the books that make your mind wander, get involved in initiatives which make your heart pound, continue the hobbies which help you keep your head clear.

In the third and last corner of my crooked triangle, there was a heart. And this was not a heart to represent love. This was a heart to be a symbol for the relationships which one builds throughout the crazy journey called ‘university’. My message with that heart: “BE CURIOUS”. Get to know the people in your class, then go and get to know some more students outside of your programme. Listen and be listened to. Don’t be afraid to start new friendships because you never know, they might last your whole life. And maybe fall in love.

So there it is: my life-balancing advice expressed in a simple geometric shape, which kids learn about when they are 7–8 years old. Nothing too sophisticated but at the same time so powerful. An anchor for the good and bad times, applicable in a familiar but also in a foreign setting. So with small personalized adjustments, I think my triangle can serve as a stable foundation — to make sense of my new chapter, and who knows, maybe to even create some new routines, for the better.

Back to the present day, I am walking (not cycling) to Uni, and I feel more balanced, more relaxed, and better focused. For now, I have my balancing act figured out, or at least I’d like to think so. Stepping onto the grey stairs towards the university library building, my phone buzzes and I unlock it to read an incoming e-mail. Oh, that’s right, I am older now and I got my career plans to figure out too… I guess I will have to make that triangle into a square now.

So what’s your key to finding balance?

Yours truly,

Glad You Called