I would like to focus on how becoming a parent can take you on a journey of discovering and unlocking your greater self, purpose and health. That maybe just maybe we haven’t recognized yet the potential to see the parenting journey beyond us caring for new life as much as the new life showing us a new way.
This is something I have explored since becoming a mother 10 years ago. I not only went in search of how I could utilize my skills in the hours available to me as a parent but also what I came to realize early on was that wellbeing was such an integral part of this. That my energy, my connection with others, my focus were all linked to my work and also ultimately to my happiness.
Not only as a parent but at any stage of our lives, connection with others is so important to our wellbeing, our contentment and growth. However, somehow we can all too often find ourselves drained by others, spending lots of time with people and yet still feeling a sense of disconnect. In the early months of parenting when the time spent amongst others is limited it is never more important to make a true connection. In this small window to have a conversation that felt authentic and real can keep you going for the rest of the day. What I have come to realize is that a connection with others comes from connecting with ourselves first. This is the most important part of our day, and working out what supports you in connecting with yourself is the best starting point.
So I have a few thoughts and suggestions:
– Make your morning really work for you, it may be exercise, meditation, healthy eating that really set you up or all three.
– Once you find what makes you feel focused and vibrant, then stick to it. Don’t be distracted by other peoples rhythms this is important for you
– Monitor your energy levels, if you are feeling low in energy maybe check your iron levels and also monitor what you did the day before.
– Look at habits that may not be serving you and work on changing them.
Once you have identified what sets you up for a strong day ahead exploring your purpose can have such great benefits to your wellness. I somehow think that it should be far easier, these are talents and skills we were born with and yet for so many we have lost touch with them. Again I believe the parenting journey can show these to you again, with short windows of time to work, finding what really lights you up is so important. Here are a few thoughts and suggestions for you:
– Read and look at content that really connects with you. Disconnect from anything else, general news etc just focus on consuming content that inspires you.
– Look at talks such as TED talks, podcasts and vlogs that you learn from and inspire you
– Consider volunteer work, the smallest amount of time can make such a difference to yourself and to others
– Once you find a part of yourself that feels empowering, this might be speaking, writing whatever it is, keep trying to reconnect with it whenever you can to remind yourself of the feeling.
Once you have started to connect with these elements of yourself, connecting with your flow is so incredibly powerful. It will enable you to achieve so much more during your hours of work, feel more at ease when you are working and more contented once you have finished. I really knew little about flow before I started exploring it and now I work hard to set myself up to work in this way. Often for me it is maintaining this morning routine that I mention at the start – exercise, healthy eating. When you are in it you will feel like time passes without noticing, that you work with ease and clarity.
Here are a few thoughts and suggestions:
– Focus on achieving flow as much as possible by establishing your morning routine
– Recognise and remind yourself how it feels when you are in it
– You can reconnect with it at any stage of the day, just remind yourself of what supports you in engaging with it
– Once you are in your flow, do not get distracted by calls or messages. Stay in it as long as possible
Many more of my learnings and the wisdom of others are shared in my book ‘A New Way for Mothers’ which published in the USA and is available from most online bookstores including: https://www.amazon.com/New-Way-Mothers-RevolutionaryApproach/dp/1945547170/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1520166141&sr=8-3
I truly believe that together we can make the greatest different to our lives and the lives of others, if you would like to join me and an incredible group on this journey you can connect with us at www.beyondtheschoolrun.com, register for our newsletter at: http://www.beyondtheschoolrun.com/register-with-us and join our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/706454232701756/