8 Signs You're Not Falling Behind in Life!

Have you ever had that feeling where you just feel like you're behind in life? Like no matter how much you're doing, you just can't get to the place you want to be. But what if I told you, you might actually be doing a lot better than you think you are? We're so quick to focus on what's missing that we often miss the real signs of progress. So today in this video, I'm going to break down the subtle yet powerful signs that you're doing a lot better than you think you are to show you that you're growing and evolving in ways that you just don't recognize. And this is very important to acknowledge to ensure that you don't start losing your motivation so that you start actually celebrating the things you have achieved and that you keep momentum towards where you want to go. If we haven't met before, my name is Erika, I'm the host and founder of the Balance Theory Podcast. I am an expat living in Dubai from Australia, if you can't tell. And I work as a lawyer, but on a consulting basis. And I also have my first baby on the way. So I have lots of things kind of happening in my life. This podcast for me is my self-development outlet. It's my way to get curious of my own life and share things with you guys that I have struggled with in my own self-development journey that have helped me workshop a lot of the ways that I feel, think and experience this life. So one of these areas, quite fittingly with today's video, is kind of feeling like I'm not good enough or I'm not doing enough. It's constantly being in my head about what I have or haven't done. The finish line is always just that little bit far away from me. But when I kind of worked out there were some really powerful signs and ways of looking at my progress and the things I'm doing every single day that helped me stop focusing on what I hadn't achieved and started dialing me into all the things I had achieved and all the signs just showed me I was winning. It changed everything. I went out of this place of being really critical and tough on myself to actually appreciating myself which fueled my success, motivation and momentum even further. So I hope these work for you and I guarantee you now you're going to fit into more than one of these signs. We just are not trained to look for those things in our day-to-day life. So let's get into it. The seven signs. The first one, and I think you can already tick this off because you are watching this channel, is that you're constantly engaging in self-improvement. Self-improvement for me is being on this never-ending journey of getting to know yourself. And if you're constantly getting to know yourself, then you're constantly growing and evolving as a person. What is more successful than that, right? So if you're already constantly listening to podcasts or journaling or meditating or just learning about you, being curious and spending time with yourself, then you're doing a lot better than you think you are. Number two, you have meaningful relationships. We cannot undermine how important these are in our life. They are literally the key to enjoyment, to connection. As humans, we want to feel like we belong. And so if you have at least one relationship in your life that is meaningful and fulfills you, you are doing so well. You might even have, you probably have more between your family, your friends, maybe a romantic partner, like these things, they're not things we can take for granted. They're not just things that exist in our life. You have to work at relationships and it's a two-way street. If you've got those, you are doing incredibly and do not take them for granted. The third one, this is my own personal take on what it means to be winning. And that is you have some sort of balance in your life. You have some sense of balance. And to me, that simply means your job is not who you are. Your job is not your life. Your life is more than work. Now is work important? Of course it is. Our businesses, our side hustles, this podcast, for example, very important things to me, but it's not the whole of who I am. I am a sister. I'm a friend. I'm a wife. I am a mama to be. I am a curious person. I love being outside. You know, there's so many parts of who I am. And so if I have a really grounded sense of myself and that's reflected in the way I spend my time, which ultimately is our balance, then you're winning. You're absolutely winning. I think, and just from experience in the past, when I've been in that situation where work is life and everything else is sacrifice or compromise as a consequence, to me, that's the opposite, right? So this could be another way if you, you know, have some sort of practice for your health, if you have meaningful relationships. These things indicate that you have some sort of balance in your life. And that to me means you are winning. Number four is all about boundaries, but it's not just about having the boundaries. It's about respecting them. So it's one thing to know how to set boundaries, okay? But can you stick to them? Can you actually express a boundary and then stick to it, not go back on yourself? Actually prioritize what you've said you're going to do, right? That's also how I think we build inner confidence. But ultimately, if you have boundaries that you not only set, but you stick to, you're doing so much better than you think you are, because that is such a difficult thing to do. And it really is the cornerstone of us protecting our own time and our own reality. If you've got that down pat, hat off to you, you are winning. You guys know how much I value health and wellness, but I'll admit choosing whole foods, supplements, and vitamins can feel so overwhelming. I find it so hard to know which brands are clean and high quality versus those that just claim that they are. That's why I'm so excited to have Nutra Organics as a sponsor of today's episode, because their range of clean and effective products have become an absolute staple in my routine over the last few months, notably the bone broth and the collagen powder. What really sets them apart from other brands, in my opinion, is their research-backed approach. I take so much comfort in knowing that every single ingredient has been thoughtfully researched by their in-house team of nutritionists. With over 25 years of experience, it's no wonder they're a trusted brand. You guys, if you're in Australia, may have even seen them in Woolies. As an added bonus, they're family, pregnancy, and postpartum friendly, so you know that they're packed with nothing but the good stuff. If you, like me, just want to take quality supplements without having to decipher and decode every ingredient or back-of-label of every product, then I highly recommend trying Nutra Organics. The team have kindly given us a code so that you can get 15% off your order, so head to nutraorganics.com.au or hit the link in the show notes and use the code THEBALANCETHEORY at checkout. Let's get back into today's episode. Number five is that you celebrate your wins. Again, we're constantly in this war with ourselves, especially if you're an A-type, high achiever like me. I very much identify in that way. If you are constantly working and building towards something, you probably have that experience where you achieve something and then you set the next task or the next goal and you just keep going. Life is this never-ending sprint between goalposts. But if you can actually celebrate your wins along the way and realize, okay, me achieving this goal is actually a combination of many little goals and I'm going to celebrate those things along the way, I've spoken about this in many videos before, then you are doing a lot better than you think you are because you're able to be present and have grace with yourself and acknowledge that life is a string of many things occurring, not just one moment where you achieve this one big thing. That big thing wouldn't exist but for all the milestones along the way. Knowing how to celebrate those, you're doing a lot better than you think you are. Number six, can you be present? Can you sit in whatever life is giving you, the discomfort, the uncertainty, the joy, the sadness? Can you just be present with life as it is? This is a really tough one and I won't lie, this is one I am constantly working on and constantly reminding myself about. It's very easy when you're feeling grateful and happy and things are going your way. Very difficult to do it when the other side is true and you're feeling very low and unsure and uncertain. But honing in on this practice and actually being the kind of person who can observe life and just take life as it comes is a massive sign of success to me. The seventh sign is gratitude. Are you a grateful person? Can you be grateful for all the things that you have? Because I think when we are not in that state, we're just focusing on everything that we don't have. Of course, we're not going to think that we're successful. Of course, we're not going to feel like we're winning. If you are a grateful person, I guarantee you're winning. You probably already have that mindset of life, right? This is a nice one to reflect on because if you're ever not feeling that way, really tapping into gratitude, leaning into that is a way to flip your perspective and show yourself you are actually successful. You are actually winning at life. And the last one, number eight, is that you're in a different position to what you were a year ago. So question for you. If you wouldn't trade places with the person you were a year ago, then you've grown. If you wouldn't switch where you are now to where you've been 12 months ago, then you have grown and evolved as a person. And that to me is success. Constantly evolving. Of course, like tangible achievements, money, titles, etc., they're all an important part of success. But I think just looking at it through that one side alone is very materialistic and it misses the core of what a lot of success is, which is our own growth. So this is a beautiful sign. If you were in a different place to where you were 12 months ago and you would in no way change your place with that person or version of yourself, then you're winning. I'd love to know which of the eight resonated with you guys most. Which is a sign that you were surprised about that when you reflected, you're like, hey, I'm actually winning. Drop it in the comments below. I'd love to see which ones stood out to you guys the most. Also, if you guys have really enjoyed this video, I highly recommend checking out a recent interview I did with Georgie Stevenson. Some of you may know her. She's the host of the Rise and Conquer podcast, which is a beautiful podcast. I highly recommend checking out. But we had a really beautiful chat about going a little bit deeper into your belief system and how that reflects your reality. So if you're someone trying to create a different life for yourself, trying to understand yourself a bit deeper, I know for a fact you're going to love this episode. The link is in the show notes. It's on the screen now if you're watching on YouTube. That's it from me, guys. I'll see you all in the next video and until then, stay balanced.