As Moms we ask a lot of ourselves.
We want to be great at mothering, cooking, friendships, work, home maintenance, health, family dinners, you name it….we want to be good at it. If our Mom always kept a clean house, we think we should too. If our neighbor is always heading out for a jog looking fit, we think we should too. If our husbands always say yes to playing with the kids, who am I kidding, we take that opportunity and run…but inside we kinda wish we were more playful and energetic, too.
The reality of chasing this unattainable perfectionism is
WE GET FRICKIN’ TIRED! And we don’t know how to stop because this pressure is internal, invisible and self-inflicted so it’s really hard to notice. We can’t change what we aren’t aware of but if you are feeling pressured or exhausted, chances are you are being too hard on yourself.
The biggest change you can make today to feel more energized and alive is to
CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK.
Moms make their lives much harder when they beat up on themselves for making mistakes. If you yearn to feel more relaxed and focused with calm energy, follow these steps today.
Five ways to cut yourself some slack and take the pressure off.
- Give yourself permission to drop the ball, in more than one area.
- Forgive yourself when you forget things or make mistakes.
- Say No to things that demand your time or mental energy. (Be part of the other percentage!)
- Recognize the voice of your mean inner critic and commit to listening to your inner cheerleader instead.
- Model imperfection and self forgiveness for your children.
Do you know the 80/20 rule? It applies to many things: 20% of your clothes you wear 80% of the time, 20% of the people do 80% of the work. But
let’s apply it to motherhood:
80% of Moms are NOT volunteering at school.
20% of Moms never send in money for the field trip.
80% of Moms have not registered their kid for any summer camps.
20% of Moms clean 80% of the time, and 80% of the Moms clean 20% of the time!
Try being a part of the other percentage! Give yourself permission to not be perfect. Your energy goes where your ATTENTION goes so when you have to remember lots of different things, your energy leaves you and goes to all of those tasks.
We like to blame others “People will be mad at me” or “I can’t be one of THOSE moms!” but I guarantee, the thing you are scared of the most, is the mean things you will say to yourself, about yourself if you make a mistake. “I’m so stupid, why didn’t I remember, I never should have ____, when am I going to get my act together, why am I such a loser, how come I never do anything right, everyone else has their shit together but me”……and on….and on. If any of this sounds familiar, YOU are enemy #1 and this is excellent news because
YOU get to choose what you say to yourself.
I dropped the ball last week. I normally send my blogs out every Wednesday but last week was so hectic that I just blew it off. Did you notice? Probably not. Did you curse me? “That horribly unreliable Torie! I was sitting by my inbox all day waiting and her email never even came!” I doubt it. I didn’t curse myself either. I gave myself permission to NOT CARE. I also avoided a few “Signup Genius” emails until they were all filled up, where normally I’m part of that initial 20%.
I made a mistake. I was supposed to submit a copy of a scholarship my son was awarded so it could be published in the graduation pamphlet. I tried, but by the time I realized a technology error, I had missed the deadline. I felt bad that my son wouldn’t have his award mentioned like everyone else so I told him what happened and apologized for not getting in on time. Do you know what he said?
“That’s ok, Mom. No big deal”. He sounded just like my inner cheerleader! When our kids hear us practicing self-forgiveness and imperfection, they learn how to grant us the same kindness.
It’s
May Madness. Crunch time for Moms with school aged kids. Now is the perfect time to practice dropping the ball, making mistakes, forgiving yourself, saying no and
not caring so much about doing everything right. If you’d like help with this, or just an outsiders perspective, schedule a free coaching call at www.LifeCoachingforParents.com/work-with-me
The biggest change you can make today to feel more energized and alive is to CUT YOURSELF SOME SLACK.
Moms make their lives much harder when they beat up on themselves for making mistakes. If you yearn to feel more relaxed and focused with calm energy, follow these steps today.
Five ways to cut yourself some slack and take the pressure off.