L'équilibre/ Finding Balance

Pour faire suite à notre premier épisode qui portait sur la recherche du bien-être suite à la transition à la vie adulte, cette fois-ci c’est au tour de Annie et de Janis de nous parler de  l’équilibre dans la vie adulte et des défis que cela peut représenter – le fameux metro-boulot-dodo mais aussi, entres-autres famille-Santé et loisirs, le tout. Au fils de l’épisode Annie et Janis tissent un lien clair entre les défis qu’elles ont vécus à l’enfance, les apprentissages et les outils qu’elles ont su développer ainsi que leur adaptation face à l’adversité en bas âge. Mur de réflexions pertientes pour les professionnels et les auditeurs en générale, il est ici question de fines stratégies pour maintenir l’équilibre tout en souligant les dynamiques particulières de ce processus tel qu’il peut être vécu par d’anciens jeunes placés à l’âge adulte.

Cet épisode est en français. Je vous souhaite un bon épisode

 

For our second episode, our members Annie and Janis share some of the challenges they face in achieving balance in adulthood—the infamous 9 to 5 grind, all the while trying to juggle family, health, leisure, and everything else. Throughout the episode, Annie and Janis draw a clear link between the challenges they experienced in childhood, the lessons they learned and their adaptations in the face of adversity. Rich in content relevant to professionals and listeners generally, this episode discusses subtle strategies for maintaining balance while highlighting the particular dynamics and challenges of this process as it may be experienced by former youth in care.

This episode is in French. A translation of the full episode transcript is available on our podbean page:

https://gabriellechapdelaine.podbean.com/

We hope you enjoy listening to this episode as much as we enjoyed making it.

 

Transcript Translation:

Annie

Here we go. OK, ready. Hi, everyone. Today we're with Janis and Annie. We're going to talk about balance. So, let's start with the first question, which is, how do you define balance in your life?

Janis

For me, it's the key to happiness. It keeps me from going to extremes and gives me a certain amount of control over what's happening in my environment.

Annie

That's a very good answer. I would say that balance is found in all areas of our lives, whether it's family, sports, or work. I think you have to find a certain balance so you don't become, how can I put it, a workaholic, for example. Work takes up too much space and we don't have enough time to do other things. We have to find that balance to be mentally healthy. That's it. What helps you maintain balance, Janice?

Janis

One word: routine. For me, it's routine. Having a Google Calendar, always writing down what I have planned, what I have to do. I know it can be intense sometimes because it's always about preparation, always about the future, but at the same time, that's what allows me to stay in the present moment because I know what I have to do from week to week. It takes some of the pressure off. There's a kind of lightness after that. And also the fact that I went to school for a long time. I went all the way to university. So at some point, you have no choice but to be more organized, to make a schedule, a routine, and then stick to it to have a certain balance. Your classes mean you have a schedule to follow, and then you add sports into that. You see your family, your friends. It's like a good foundation for knowing where you're going.

Annie

But I agree that balance starts, I think, with school. We're in school from age 5 until you decide to finish CEGEP or university. And of course, for me too, a planner is really important.

 

I still use the old-fashioned method, which is a paper planner. I prefer to write things down because it frees up my brain a little. It means I don't have to think all the time. I also had to start making to-do lists. I was fine with "today I'm going to do this and that..." Then I realized that making to-do lists stressed me out because I never got through them. And I realized that you never get through a to-do list. That's what a to-do list is for. But I've come up with a new slogan recently, and it's called "Just for today." So, I make a to-do list, and it's just for today, I'm going to do that, and that's going to be it, my accomplishments. That way, I can find a certain balance, even at work. OK, today I did that. When I leave work, I leave work behind, and tonight I focus on my family, my hobbies, my passions, and my son too, because he takes up a lot of space. That way, we find a certain balance in a life that moves very quickly. We don't live life at a thousand miles an hour every day, but we try to find balance in it.

Janis

So for you too, it's a bit about organization?

Annie

Well, it's really part of my life. If I don't have organizati