Women can have it all, but boy is it a pain the butt to get. While men can be satisfied with a successful career, women are almost expected to have the career, the kids and dinner on the table. Not to mention being a strong member of the community, PTA and be the best tutor, seamstress and lover to your partner. If we can’t cram in all that perfection into one day, we some how assume were some kind of failure. The guilt, stress and exhaustion we experience trying to have it all is due to the self inflicted standard of super mom. At the end of the day, the best way to be a super mom is to be your super self.
There is No Super Mom
Here is the thing, you already are a “super mom.” Really. If your children have clothes on their back, a roof over their head, food in their stomach and even the technology you are currently reading this article on, that is more than a lot of people can say. In fact, according to global standards, you are ninety percent more wealthy than most people in the world. Sad but true.
The fact that you didn’t finish the laundry today or simply don’t want to work a full time job while raising children doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you a person. If you laughed once today, hugged your child and kissed your partner, you’re doing just fine. So long as you start every day working to help those you love you are succeeding.
What Are Your Priorities?
Okay, you get it. You’re fine just the way you are. So why do you still feel so bad? Perhaps there is something off in your life that needs to be sorted out. If that’s the case, it is about time you take a look within. We suggest an elementary solution, more specifically a pie chart. Grab your children’s colored pencils and draw out a circle. Each slice should represent every element of your life that requires attention. The size of the slice is determined by how much time you devote to each responsibility.
Now you have a colorful visual of your life so you can literally see where your time an energy is going. If the slice for “me time” is smaller than all the others, its no wonder you’re stressed. You have no emotional energy left to see everything good you are doing clearly. Do your best to evenly distribute your time an energy between the slices. Then your own personal expectations of yourself will become more reasonable and you will act with the grace, calm and gentility you have always expected of yourself. After all, in order to live a healthy life, you must live a balanced one.
Image credit: istockphoto.com
