There’s no denying the last few years of my life have been all about excess. I’ve been throwing myself in 100% to grabbing life by the balls, to traveling solo and to having the experience of a lifetime. But there comes a time when that becomes exhausting to maintain 24/7. I’m not ashamed to admit my life has changed a LOT in the last three years of traveling, and particularly during my second year in Australia – I’ve changed. My priorities are different and my goals are taking me in a different direction, and that’s okay.

It’s been two years since I first arrived in Darwin, and don’t get me wrong, I still love it up here but this time I’m doing things very differently to the last time I was living up here. My last Darwin experience was full of wild parties, traveler friends, hostel life and raving until dawn. I loved every second, I really did. It was one of my best traveling experiences with some of the most amazing friends, and it was exactly what I needed at that moment in my life. But this time in Darwin, I feel like I’ve purposefully done everything the total opposite to not end up ruining good memories – I started working at a different bar, got out of the hostel and moved into a house, stopped partying as much to save money and have been trying to live pretty healthily. I feel like a completely different person to the girl who arrived here two years ago, so it feels strange to come back and find Darwin as unchanged as ever, totally familiar and yet completely different.

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So what’s different about my life this time?

Time is running out

I have just two months left on my Australian visa and I’m very aware of the clock ticking down – I’m trying to use my time wisely around working to make sure I see anything I’ve missed because I probably won’t be back in Australia for a long time. For me, that isn’t partying with the same old crowd, it’s seeing the national parks and the parts of the Northern Territory I missed previously. I’m also trying to work as much as possible while I’m still on a good Australian wage with plenty of dollars rolling in so I can save for my next trip.

I’m actually pretty settled

For the first time in a long time, I actually have a home that feels like a home. I moved into a house with my boyfriend – yes, that’s right, I have a boyfriend – and we’re really happy with our amazing new home that even comes with a dog! After moving around so much over the last six months and feeling as though my life was very temporary, it’s nice to have somewhere, and someone, you can’t wait to go home to at the end of the day.

I’m feeling healthier than ever

After spending months hiking, climbing and exploring the coast of Western Australia and living off the healthiest food – I’m full of energy and was excited to get back in the gym. I feel like my body is stronger and fitter than ever, my skin feels great and I’m enjoying eating healthily thanks to my lovely kitchen. Because of all this, it hits me 10x worse when I’m hungover or feel rubbish for drinking. I’m still drinking and going out, but I’m drinking less and trying to reduce how often I go out partying, instead preferring to make the most of my days.

I’m making plans for this blog and my career

I’ve been spending a lot of my time working on this blog and after several months away and even more out of the blogging loop, it’s been nice to spend time working on my true passion. I’ve been redesigning my blog, working with new brands and creating a whole series of amazing new content. It’s felt great to dive back into it and right now that is what I want to dedicate my energies towards. I’ve also been thinking about my next career move – it’s been fun working hospitality and various other jobs over in Australia but I miss my work as a journalist and writer.

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How I’m finding balance in my own life

• Most importantly I’m limiting nights out and I’m thinking carefully about how I spend my money and how I can make it stretch further.
• I’m prioritising my career and my relationship over temporary traveler friends and am trying to focus on the long-term plans that will make me happier.
• I’m focusing on my health – last time I was in Darwin I lost a lot of weight and was very unhealthy – this time I’m eating well, I’m strong and fit, I’m relaxed and not stressed out or tired.

Perhaps it’s me getting older, perhaps I’m past this stage in my life, or perhaps it’s just a phase – after all, I can still party as hard as the rest when I want to. I think I’ve just found there is so much more to life than getting shit-faced every night with the same crowd of people. There’s sleeping under the stars, watching the sun rise and set with the one you love, there’s throwing yourself into your passion and seeing the satisfaction of your own success. There are workouts where you aren’t hungover and saving money towards a goal that will be a lot more epic than any night out you’ve already lived 100 times over. Now I don’t know if you can identify with any of what I’m saying here, or whether I’m just warbling on, but if you find yourself nodding along with what I’m saying, this next section is for you.

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Top tips for finding balance in your own life

• Ask yourself what you are really doing for yourself and your own happiness, and what you are doing just to keep others happy. It’s so easy to get swept up in trying to keep everyone else happy that you end up compromising your own contentment.
• Take the time to ask yourself how you are feeling. We always say “how are you?” to others but rarely ask ourselves how we are doing – listen to your body and give it what it needs – food, rest, relaxation, exercise.
• Push yourself towards a goal. So many just coast by and expect the world to fall in their lap, we have to work for what we want in life and we don’t deserve to complain about what we don’t have unless we have put the time and energy into making it a reality.
• Make a plan and decide how you want to reach your goals, then work towards them. Stay focused on the prize, don’t allow yourself to get distracted by other projects – that’s when you become disillusioned by your lack of success and find it hard to keep going.
• Work out your priorities and put the most important things first in your life – whether it is your relationship, you career, friends and family or just having fun. Give it 110%.
• Don’t become overworked – I’m so guilty of this all the time – learn when to say no to opportunities for the sake of your health and happiness.

And the most important one:

Don’t be so hard on yourself if it doesn’t work out in your career or relationship – we all have these moments when things don’t pan out as we expected and it throws us off course. But the important thing to remember is each failure teaches us and makes us stronger for our next attempt. If the path was easy, reaching the end wouldn’t be worth it.

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How do you find balance in your life? Have you changed as you’ve hit your late-twenties? Do you find it difficult to balance your career, relationship and having fun?