E008 The Myth of Balance: Let’s Talk Seasons

If you have ever felt like you are dropping every ball while everyone else seems to be balancing theirs perfectly, this episode will feel grounding.

If you keep thinking ‘why does this feel so hard right now?’ you might just be in a different season. That’s completely normal. This $7 Season Mapping Quiz will help you work out where you are and what to focus on next. 

The Myth of Balance: Let’s Talk Seasons

The idea of balance is often packaged as something we should aim for every day, but real life rarely looks that tidy. Instead of chasing a version of balance that leaves you feeling behind, this conversation helps you understand the season you are actually in so your expectations can shift with the pace your mind and body can hold.

We explore the four core seasons you move through across the year, across your life and how everything from your energy, your focus and your emotional load changes with each one. You will also hear how the HNSF pillars flex to support you in each season and why honouring your current capacity is one of the kindest things you can do for yourself.

This episode brings the idea of balance back to real life and supports you to notice your season, soften expectations and choose steps that match where you are today.

📋 What we covered:

• Why traditional balance often feels unrealistic.
• A quick check-in from Episode 007 on habits and how seasons shape them.
• The difference between Pinterest-perfect balance and the reality of daily life.
• Where mum guilt comes from and why it shows up so strongly.
• The four core seasons: Survival, Rest, Growth and Transition/Chaos.
• How mismatching your season and your expectations leads to overwhelm.
• How hydration, nutrition, self-care and fitness/movement shift in each season.
• A practical way to name your season and choose one step that fits your capacity. 

 🧰 Understanding Your Season
Your journal prompts for Episode 008.
👉 https://gawellness.myflodesk.com/seasons

🌟 Key takeaways:

• Balance expects everything at once. Seasons help you focus on what is possible today.
• Mum guilt often reflects old standards that no longer fit your life.
• You are not inconsistent. You are cyclical.
• The HNSF pillars look different in each season and that is how they work.
• A small step that matches your season is more supportive than a perfect plan. 

🎧 Episodes referenced in this episode

• E007 Let’s Talk Habits: Why You Can’t Hustle Your Way to Wellness.
• E002–005 for a deeper look at each HNSF pillar and how they adapt through seasons.
• E011 Mum Guilt Explained: Reframing Rest, Guilt and Self-Care for Mums.

This episode brings everything together and invites you to notice the season you are in, soften the expectations you hold and choose one small step that supports where you are today. 

📱 Let’s Connect 

• All links, resources and ways to connect are here https://linktr.ee/GAWellness

🔔 If this episode spoke to you, lovely, please:

• Follow the podcast.
• Leave a quick review (it truly helps!)
• Share with a bestie who’s ready to reclaim wellness on her own terms.

 © 2026 GA Wellness with Georgia Ann™. All content is for educational purposes only and is not medical or psychological advice. 

Transcript

E008 The Myth of Balance: Let’s Talk Seasons
Georgia Ann

Opening

Ever feel like you're dropping all the balls while everyone else is balancing theirs perfectly? Especially as a mum. The guilt is real, like you should have it together in every season, all the time, but what if you're not failing? You're just in a different season. Today we're ditching the guilt, spilling the chai and chatting about why chasing balance is overrated and how honouring your season, whatever it looks like, is the real secret to feeling good in your own skin.

Podcast Intro

Welcome to the GA Wellness podcast, Small Steps, Lasting Change. I'm your host, Georgia Ann, health coach, solo mum and a woman who's lived through the chaos, the curveballs and the craving for something steadier. After 20 years in the fitness industry and my own journey through grief, motherhood and starting over, I've learned that real wellness isn't about doing more. It's about doing what matters. Each week, we cut through the noise and get real with simple, doable tools to help you feel stronger, calmer and more like you. This isn't about perfection. It's about steady soul led progress, because you deserve wellness that fits into your full life, not just one version of it. Let's dive in.

Warm Welcome and The “Balance” Eye Roll Moment

Hey, lovely, get comfy, grab your coffee, snuggle on the couch and let's just have a proper catch up. Welcome back to the GA Wellness Podcast where we know the real magic happens through those tiny steps, not grand gestures.

So, picture us messy buns, trackie dacks, big mugs of something warm. Definitely chai for mere we're about to get real about something we all secretly roll our eyes at. Balance. Honestly, don’t you just want to throw that word out the window some days?

The world keeps telling us we should be somehow nailing work, parenting, relationships, healthy meals, fitness and still have time for a hot bath and a girl's night. Honestly, I just got exhausted saying that right now and I don't know about you, but all of that is never happening all at once at my place.

Sometimes all I want to do when I finish work on a Friday is go home, put on And Just Like That on Netflix or whatever streaming service it is on these days. Honestly, there’s so many I lose track. Anyway, I digress. I just want to put my feet up and sometimes I won’t even unpack my laptop until the next day. It's called real life.

Balance is a beautifully packaged myth and for most of us it just ends up making us feel like we’re not doing enough, when really, we’re doing so much and yes, I know I talk about balance on here, but when I do, I’m talking about it in a completely different way.

For me, it’s not about achieving a perfect split or having it all together all the time. It’s more about where you are in your own equilibrium, where your body, your mind and your season are calling for right now. We’ll get into what this means and how to find it a bit later in the episode.

Quick Check-In and Episode 007 Recap

Before we spill the chai on seasons, we’re going to do a little check in. Last week we totally busted that hustle your way into wellness myth and we talked about how habits that actually stick aren’t about perfection or pushing yourself to the edge. They’re about staying curious, giving your nervous system some love and being kind to yourself even when life is in total chaos. 

We also busted the 21 day habit myth because building habits that last usually takes longer and that’s perfectly normal. What matters is showing up for yourself and letting the small steps add up over time.

If you missed that episode, it’s worth a listen after this one and don’t forget, there’s also the free Brain Rewire Habit Tracker in the show notes, designed to help you notice and celebrate those tiny everyday wins. That’s the vibe we’re about here.

Why “Balance” Feels Like a Trap

So what’s this whole seasons thing? First though, balance sounds dreamy, right? Like the Pinterest board version of life. Matching mugs, happy kids, meal prep lunches, calm vibes and a Zen plant in every corner of the house.

Now let’s come back down to earth. In real life, balance is often just another stick we use to beat ourselves up with, especially as mums. Seriously, who decided we’re supposed to have it all together in every season, all the time?

Where Mum Guilt Comes From

The mum guilt is real. Somewhere along the way we picked up the story that if we drop a ball, we’re failing and a lot of this comes from what was modelled for us.

Think back to our mums, our grandmothers and even our great grandmothers. Back then, women knew their roles. They were mostly at home looking after the family and that’s what they needed to do. These days and I noticed this growing up in the 90s, pretty much every family I know is juggling work, school drop offs, bills, relationships, the whole shebang. Dual incomes is just the natural order now.

We have packed so much more on our plates. There’s more to organise, more to remember, more to clean up but that old mentality is still hanging around, whispering that we should somehow be doing it all like they did, except now with a side hustle and a LinkedIn profile.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not enough, take a deep breath and look around. Life is so different now. You’re not failing. You’re in a different season and you’re absolutely allowed to be.

Some seasons are about keeping everyone alive and mostly clean and that is a huge win. Other times you’re nailing routines and meal prep and all of it. Sometimes it’s chaos and you’re winging it. That’s exactly how it’s meant to be. We’re not robots. We move in rhythms, cycles, seasons.

Yes, there’s psychology behind mum guilt. It’s not us being dramatic. Mum guilt runs deep. A big part comes from social comparison theory. We’re wired to look at what others are doing, or what we think we should be doing and measure ourselves against it. Add social media to the mix and suddenly we’re comparing our messy real life to everyone else’s highlight reel.

It goes deeper still. A lot of mum guilt is tied up in old stories about what a good mother should be. We absorb those expectations from families, TV and society. We think we should sacrifice everything, never drop a ball and always be on. Even when our lives have changed, our brains still try to hold us to those old impossible standards.

Here’s your reminder, mum guilt doesn’t mean you’re failing, if anything, it means you care. You’re allowed to question where those feelings come from and whether they’re serving you in your life right now. We will dive deeper into this in a future episode, because mum guilt deserves its own honest, loving conversation.

Seasons Instead of Balance

If we’re not meant to be perfect all the time, what are we aiming for? What I’ve found makes the biggest difference is getting honest about the season you’re in and letting that guide you, not a checklist or someone else’s Instagram grid.

So, what even is a season when it comes to life and wellness? It’s not just a poetic caption. There’s science behind it. Our bodies shift constantly between daily rhythms, hormones and the mental load of life.

Here’s how I look at the main seasons we move through.

Survival Season

Survival season is about getting through. It might look like grabbing whatever you can out of the fridge. If I manage to walk Ellie to school, that’s a workout. Meal planning goes out the window and that’s fine. There’s probably chocolate involved, usually Haigh’s.

It’s those weeks when Ellie has a million dance practises and the concert is looming. We’ll get takeaway. Hot chips for dinner happens. It’s not glamorous, it’s just the season and I refuse to feel guilty about it.

Rest Season

Rest season is when your body screams for you to slow down and you actually listen. I’ve just come out of rest season. I slept 12 hours a night for a few nights. I barely lifted a finger around the house. I did the bare minimum.

Was my house a mess? Yes. Did I tick off major goals? No, but that’s exactly what I needed to feel like myself again. Sometimes rest is the only thing on the to do list.

Growth Season

Growth season is the fun one. Energy is up. Ideas are buzzing. Everything feels possible. This is when I feel like Superwoman.

It’s when the Nervous System Reset program was born. I felt alive planning it, mapping it out, trialling it with you, seeing breakthroughs in our community. In growth season, routines feel easier. You feel inspired to try new recipes, set goals, call a friend for a spontaneous chat.

Transition and Chaos Season

This is when life throws plot twists. A new job. Kids starting school. Moving house. A new baby. Sometimes a few at once. Everything feels unsettled. Even small routines fall apart. You forget what day it is. Meals are random. You’re double-booking appointments.

In chaos season, adaptability is key. Let go of the ‘shoulds’. Do what you can. Be flexible with yourself. Laugh when you can. Phone a friend for a vent. Remember this season won’t last forever.

Why Knowing Your Season Changes Everything

Knowing your season is life changing. If you’re in survival mode but holding yourself to growth season standards, of course you’ll feel burnt out, overwhelmed and not enough. It’s like expecting sunshine in the middle of a cold rainy winter.

Some seasons are breezy. Others feel like running a marathon in gumboots. What works in a calm season might flop or stress you out in survival mode. Give yourself permission to know that this is okay.

The real secret is to flow with your seasons, not fight them. Think surfing. You wouldn’t expect yourself to ride big waves if you’re still learning to stand. Sometimes you’re paddling. Sometimes you catch a ripple. Sometimes you wipe out. That’s part of it.

Next time you catch yourself thinking, I should be doing more, pause and check in. What season am I actually in? Maybe you just need to get through the week. Maybe you have energy to try something new. Either way, you’re not behind. You’re living in your rhythm.

Support and Nervous System Reset Invitation

If you’re listening and thinking, okay, but how do I actually figure out what season I’m in or what to do next, you are not alone. That’s what we do in my Nervous System Reset program. You get clear on your season, then build a toolbox of practical strategies so you can grab what supports you right where you are.

You don’t have to figure it out on your own. If you’re curious, check the link in the show notes or DM me for a real life, no pressure chat. I’m always here to help you make your season work for you.

HNSF in Every Season

This is what I love most about the HNSF method. It’s designed to flex and move with you, no matter what season you’re in. No one size fits all, just practical tools and gentle reminders you can mix and match day by day.

Let’s break down how the pillars can look in different seasons.

Hydration: This is always your starting point. In survival mode, keep a bottle nearby and sip when you remember. That’s enough. In growth season, you might feel fancy and try herbal tea or infused water with something fun.

Nutrition: When life is tough, simple comforting food counts. Toast for dinner counts. Takeaway counts. In growth or rest season, you might be inspired to try new recipes, gut loving foods or batch cook. Your energy shifts, your meals can shift too.

Self-care: In survival or rest season, self-care might be saying no, getting to bed early, giving yourself permission to just be. In growth season, you might want journaling, meditation, a full morning routine. Both are valid.

Fitness and movement: Movement counts in every form. Walking the dog, stretching while the kettle boils, dancing with the kids. It all counts. In growth season you might get back into workouts or classes. The main thing is listen to your body, not your guilt.

You are not inconsistent. You’re cyclical. You’re meant to move in peaks and troughs. You are not a perfectly ticked off to do list. Let yourself be a bit messy. It’s okay to soften, shift and do things differently depending on the day or even the hour.

Balance says do it all. Seasons say do what’s possible right now. That is enough.

Weekly Nudge and Check-In

Here’s your gentle nudge for the week. Pause the hustle, sip your chai and ask, what season am I really in right now? What does my body need today? Where can I take the pressure off and let it be easy for once?

No matter what season you’re in, you are doing so much better than you give yourself credit for. Let’s stop chasing the fantasy of having it all together and make wellness fit into a real messy life.

If you ever want support, you know where to find me. The Nervous System Reset is available, or slide into my DMs for a proper catch up. I’m here for you.

Recap and Next Episode Tease

Let’s recap. Today we called out the balance myth, talked honestly about why mum guilt creeps in and where it comes from and gave ourselves permission to work with peaks and troughs without guilt.

We broke down the seasons, how to spot your season and why forcing yourself into a different season sets you up for disappointment. We also talked about how the HNSF method flexes, because hydration, nutrition, self-care and fitness can look different depending on your season.

Next week I’ll be introducing the Learn Try and Become method. It’s the approach I use when I’m learning something new and it’s how I’m still building GA Wellness behind the scenes. It’s practical and simple and I can’t wait to share it with you. Make sure you’re following along.

Send this episode to your bestie who needs to hear it and let me know what season you’re in. I’d love to hear from you. Keep smiling, stay true to yourself and I’m so glad you’re here.

Outro

Thanks for being here. Lovely. If today's episode gave you a light bulb moment, helped you feel seen or sparked a small step, I'd love to hear about it.

Tag me over on Instagram @gawellness and share you in so I can cheer you on.

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Until next time, take a deep breath and take care of you.

With love,
Georgia Ann

© 2025 GA Wellness with Georgia Ann™.

All content is for educational purposes only and is not medical or psychological advice.