You're probably here because, like me, you found parenting to be WAY harder than you thought.
You may have lost connection with family, coworkers, your lover, and even your life's purpose.
Every day you are tethered to your child's every whim. What you wouldn't give for a NAP… or even a shower… There are days I still can't find a moment to take a proper shower, my child is now three!!! One of the best things about us parents is that we're always there for our children.
I've noticed that looking back at the twenty-year-old me to the now 35-year-old me; I'm intensely more reliable than I was back then. We simply don't take a day (or even 15 minutes) off sometimes for weeks or months on end! All this "on time" can leave Mothers (and Fathers) physically and emotionally exhausted.
What Can I Do When I Feel Exhausted?
The best thing you can do for your children is to take care of yourself first – especially with alone time! I'm not talking about a spa weekend twice a year (where you return to the same chaos as when you left). I'm talking about a deeper connection to your meaning and purpose… on a higher level.
Who are you, really?
When you're not elbow-deep in diaper changes and play-dates and snacks every sixty minutes, what drives you?
What is that thing you do better than anybody else?
That thing that provides deep contentment that you were created with a purpose? When we are constantly caretaking and giving, we can't focus on what we want, need, and our desires to fulfill in our own lives.
Here are a few ways I've learned to turn that chaos into calm for my mind, and my deeper life's purpose.
Remember That Self-Care is Not Selfish
There are infinite cheesy analogies for putting your own mask on before helping your child.
But I've personally never resonated with that shit.
Do you know what resonates with me? I deserve time to myself. I'm an introvert; that means I don't regenerate energy unless I'm ALONE. Being with a toddler 24/7 exhausts the life out of me – literally. My mind needs time to process my day.
Maybe a bath is involved in your idea self-care ritual. Or maybe, like me, you need to get on a sweat and lift weights or hike a steep mountain trail.
No Break from Kids = Stress (And Stress Makes You Sick…)
A LOT of scientists and experts believe that stress can cause cancer and many other forms of disease.
But when you're paired up against other parents on social media, other women & men in magazines, and professionals at work all day; how can you not succumb to the pressure of doing more… always MORE.
I've found that the most productive times in my life are when I stop DOING and start FEELING. When my mind is clearer, it brings more profitability and productivity to my business.
If you're harried, sick, tired, or abusing caffeine and alcohol just to make it through your day, you aren't doing any good for your children; and you could be fatally damaging your own health.
According to Melodie Beattie, author of ‘Codependent No More’, some women serve so hard that they have been found to die of old age… at as young as thirty-years-old.
