Does anyone else ever feel like what you do is just not enough?
I seem to have a constant battle in my mind. A battle between loving myself the way I am, and feeling like I'll never live up to my full potential.
This state of mind has gotten harder to navigate since I became a mom. There is no way to measure success. I don't get a paycheck. I don't get raises. I don't have stimulating goals to accomplish. Days are so full of busyness, never ending busyness, and yet there isn't a lot I can say I've achieved when the day is over.
I know I'm a great mom. That I don't doubt. I do my best and love my babies with all my heart. Taking them on adventures, and helping them discover what makes them happy, and hearing the funny things they say are what I live for.
Well that and diet coke, and spontaneous vacations with my family.
I'm not even sure what I'm getting at exactly.
But there is so much celebration for a mom who "does it all". The mom who balances work, and motherhood, and being tiny skinny, and having super cute clothes and being an amazing cook to top it all off.
But there is so much celebration for a mom who "does it all". The mom who balances work, and motherhood, and being tiny skinny, and having super cute clothes and being an amazing cook to top it all off.
There is so much pressure to be EVERYTHING that I often feel like I am NOTHING.
Maybe it's okay to not own a cool business.
Maybe it's okay to not have thousands of fans on Instagram admiring my
outfit of the day.
outfit of the day.
Maybe it's okay to to not be going back to school to earn a masters degree.
OR...
MAYBE IT'S NOT OKAY.
Ugghhh....you see what I'm dealing with here? haha
I don't know the answer.
Push myself harder to be more successful as an individual while raising my girls or keep dedicating my days to my sweet little ladies and accept that that is good enough?
How do you find balance? How do you measure success?
I love this post and I think we all feel this way at some point no matter what stage in life we are at! I have started to feel this way because I am not as far along in my career as I had planned to be by now etc. On the one side that sucks... On the other side it is nice that we can always be improving more. Life would be boring without things to challenge us.
ReplyDeletePeople say this allll the time but in my opinion I think being a mother is even greater than owning a business or having a PHD (Although I totally support moms who work, I want to keep my business when I am a mom). You are shaping and influencing peoples lives in a way no other occupation can. It is difficult to not compare ourselves to others success especially with instagram and blogs (I find myself doing this sometimes). But I think to find balance we just need to remember that no matter what family is the absolute most important thing. So if that means you find success through making your kids a meal they love then thats great! haha
Although I am right there with you in always trying to improve myself to be a better person. I am the hardest on myself. Setting little personal goals is a nice way to feel great about personal improvement. Guess I don't really know the answer either and ended up writing you a novel of nonsense !
Overall looks to me like you are doing awesome !
- JJ
girlandthegeek.blogspot.com
I love your novel. So true that it is really hard to NOT be hard on ourselves if we're comparing ourselves with instagram and blogs etc. I heard someone say when you do that what you're actually doing is comparing your movie to their highlight reel. SO true. It's easy to forget that people often only share the best, most successful moments. And what equals success anyway? Fame? Money? A happy family? The answer is different for everyone, and thats okay but what I have to remind myself is that a happy, healthy family is most important to me. Gotta keep my eyes on that prize! haha. Thanks for the comment! Definitely made me think.
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