I feel like life gets in the way sometimes. We get busy with certain things and neglect others. Life is always a balancing act. It’s important to balance everything you do. Doing too much, even if it’s something you love, will wear you down and could destroy you.

However, that being said, it is important to put in work and improve areas of your life. For me right now, my putting in work is more mental than anything else.

What I mean that is that the things I am currently focusing on deal with mental improvement. I am eight weeks into student teaching where I plan lessons every week. I am also teaching all five classes every day. At first, planning lessons took a lot longer. But now that I’ve done it more, it’s getting easier. I’m putting in work to improve and get better at being a teacher.

I am also in the middle of writing my thesis for Honors. I am not quite halfway done with it, but I’m getting there. I got a lot of writing done for it on Sunday, and so far I’m pretty proud of it. Right now this is just my first draft, but hopefully I won’t have too many corrections to make. Again, I’m putting in the work.

Unfortunately, since most of my time right now is spent on teaching and my thesis, this means that there are other things being neglected. A big example of this is exercise. I haven’t exercised as much or as hard as I would have liked in a while. As much as I know I should be doing that, I also recognize I need the balance. I’m working on other things right now, and that’s okay.

I tell you all this to remind you, life isn’t worth killing yourself to live to the fullest. If you can’t improve everything, just start with one thing. When you have that regulated, you can start doing other things without giving up what you’ve already worked on.

I get it. Life is hard. But it’s not a competition. We all walk different paths. There is no one out there doing exactly what you’re doing. That’s why you’re you. As always, I don’t know what you’re going through. And to be honest, you don’t know what I’m going through. I don’t share a lot, even with this weekly blog. I have my head down, and I’m putting in work.

Whatever you’re going through, wherever you’re at, put in work. It could be landing on your feet after a breakup, adjusting to a new job, working for a promotion, trying to do better in school, or trying to be healthier. I promise your work will pay off. The process isn’t glamorous, and somedays it’ll seem easier to give up than continue. But if you push through, you’ll come out better and stronger.