Motherhood doesn’t have to be a life of overwhelm or the end of pursuing your personal dreams and goals. You might have a busy life with the many hats you wear as a mom, but you can and should pursue your inner dreams, goals, and desires without guilt. This might be difficult to believe, but focusing on yourself isn’t selfish and will improve the quality and harmony of your home life and relationships.
For moms overwhelmed with life, my suggestion is to add one more item to the daily priority list…YOU. When you put yourself first at the top of your own priority list by looking within for guidance and direction, you’re able to focus on your personal dreams, desires and goals. As women, we are nurturers and it is natural to place our focus on others while moving our needs further down the priority list or lose ourselves altogether in the role of mom. The practice of tuning in will surprisingly clear the cobwebs of overwhelm by helping you create a more focused and productive life.
Focusing on myself was extremely difficult in the beginning. I initially thought it was selfish to put myself before my family or anything else in my life. I soon discovered that focusing on myself was the easiest way to prevent overwhelm, fatigue and burnout. There was a time when I described myself as a busy and overwhelmed mom. I used to go to bed with unfinished tasks on my daily list and I used to wake up tired, groggy and unprepared to face the day. Now, I feel more productive, sleep peacefully and wake up refreshed, renewed and ready for each new day. I no longer feel as if I’m rushing through my day or wasting time. By simply tuning in, putting myself first, and not feeling guilty about it, I have more energy, time and focus for family and household responsibilities while creating the life I desire.
What does it mean to be busy and overwhelmed?
– Busy: having a great deal to do; occupied with or concentrating on a particular activity
Honestly, I believe everyone is busy in some way according to this definition. We can be busy with many things at once, one thing at a time or nothing at all. And by that I mean we can get busy thinking about doing something and find a way to talk ourselves out of it ultimately getting nothing done. Right? I’ve done that in the past so I’ll raise my hand on that. So, we’re all busy in some way and it comes down to what we get done.
– Overwhelmed: bury or drown beneath a huge mass; have a strong emotional effect on
When we’re so busy that we become overwhelmed, some interesting things happen. We might feel stressed out or completely shut down in life. We might forget things, lose things, become depressed, over sleep, or in the opposite direction we might start overdoing some activities. I’m speaking from experience here so once again I’m raising my hand.
Feelings of overwhelm are never good for us or the people who depend on us. I know when I used to worked myself into overwhelm, I frequently felt like I was moving through life on empty and lacking focus and direction and needed to make a change.
From busy and overwhelmed to productive
Productive: achieving a significant amount or result
When we make the effort to create a productive life, we feel better from the inside. When we feel better within, the world around around us reaps the benefits. As I mentioned above, I’m still busy, but now I no longer feel overwhelmed or stressed with life. I now know how to transform those feelings of overwhelm into something more productive, useful and beneficial in life.
What was the turning point from overwhelmed to productive?
Focus: directing a great deal of attention, interest or activity towards something in particular
Focusing on myself and not feeling guilty about it was the turning point in my life. By focusing on the dreams, desire, and goals that had been placed on the back burner, my mind was clear to handle the other tasks within my day.
In future posts, I will discuss some of the practices I incorporated into my daily routine to create a more productive life.
Questions
How do you define yourself?
Are you busy and overwhelmed or busy and productive?
Please share in the comments below.
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