Find Your Balance

Find Your Balance
By: Monica Eaton Crawford

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As law enforcement officers, we all go into our career fields ready to save the world. We put our lives on the line daily to help or protect others so much so that we often forget about ourselves and our families and friends.

The first full year of work is immersive. You're throwing balance out the window trying to survive academies, tests, and schoolwork, all while some of you continue to work other jobs, which is just incredible. Because of this, our profession somehow becomes our identity.

So, you know you are capable of juggling many things at once. You tip the scales to one side because this is who you are now. That is a strength that can be used in survival mode, but it's not meant to be used long-term. We aren't meant to be juggling 90 things at once our entire lives while simultaneously running our asses into the ground just trying to get a few hours of sleep, let alone anything else. But we do it anyway, because this is the life of a law enforcement officer.

What if I told you that it is possible to enjoy your 40 hours of work and be able to go home and enjoy life away from work? Most people will roll their eyes or laugh at the seeming impossibility of it. It is possible. You can be a spouse first. You can be a parent first. You can be a friend first. It's never meant to be, "I am a first responder," and I also have family and friends at home.

However, it takes a mindset shift and some intentionality to regain your balance. If you let your employer continue to run you into the ground, you won't ever make the decision to get out of the cycle. It is a choice.

Your time is your time. You get to choose how you spend it. Do you live to work or do you work to live? Sure, law enforcement officers have an intensity built in and a passion to do what we do, but at the end of the day, are you choosing to die a slow death at work, in a profession in which you are 100 percent replaceable, or do you want to be able to achieve your career goals, take care of your health and wellness, enjoy time with family, and thrive into your 80s and 90s?

Shift those scales back from being one-sided to being more balanced. Prioritize your sleep, nutrition and fitness. Schedule time to be with your family and friends and take time for your own self-care. Fill your cup so full it pours over to help everyone else.

Your happiness, health, family, friends, and coworkers will thank you for it.

Monica Eaton Crawford is the owner/CEO of Five-0 Fierce and Fit which creates online nutrition and fitness programs designed to help female first responders lose fat, gain strength and take back their confidence in 90 days because “your family depends on you to be fit for duty.” Using her six-year Oklahoma law enforcement experience along with her 15-year background in fitness and nutrition she helps female first responders reach their full potential in life and career. Look her up on Instagram @five0.fierce.and.fit.