These Two have taught me, and continue to teach me, SO much. There are so many things our children teach us, if we take the time to look beyond the growing pile of laundry and day to day activities we have to tend to.
This weekend, I have been reflecting on all the incredible lessons I have learned from being a mom. All the BIG things these two blessings have taught me. The learning isn’t over here, it really has just begun.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, it is not only a day to celebrate what it means to be a mom but a day to celebrate all the lessons we continue to learn from our little ones.
These are the top 8 lessons my kids have taught me…
- Flexibility! We tend to get stuck in our ways and have a “picture perfect” way we see our days or life unfolding but kids have stepped up my flexibility game and taught me that things come up. While we may have an ideal plan, we must have Plan B, C, D, … Z because things will not always go according to plan. Before kids, if things didn’t go according to plan, it was more because of my own doing. If I didn’t make my “perfect window” to get in my workout, I would throw in the towel and say, tomorrow… Today, if things don’t go according to plan, no big deal, I know that if I want it bad enough I will find a way and make no excuses! Let’s just say Kids have stepped up my NO EXCUSE Game BIG TIME!
- One Thing At a Time. One of my favorite lessons and mantras I use daily is “One Thing at a Time.”. It is SO easy to get overwhelmed by the day to day responsibilities of being a mom + life, business, professional life, personal life, etc. The list is endless. I have learned that I am not superwoman (all the time) and can only do so much with the amount of time I have in any given day. All we can do is “one thing at a time”. Rather than seeing a list as overwhelming, I remind myself “one thing at a time” and everything will eventually get done. I have created a song to slow me down and remind me of this. My kids know the tune too…“one thing at a time my friend, one thing at a time. One thing at a time my friends, one thing at a time.” This has been a game changer for me.
- SLOW DOWN. As a go getter we tend to push ourselves beyond our limits and fight what may be resisting us. We have the mindset that if we want it bad enough we will do whatever it takes to get there- even if it means losing sleep or working 80+ hours in a week. We go go go, no matter what, and push ourselves past our limits. Kids have taught me to slow down and accept the season of life I am in right now. We wont get these years back and if we are so focused on what is next and the go go go mindset, we may miss the beauty of what is happening NOW. My kids have taught me that it is okay to have seasons of fast pace and at the same time seasons to walk in the slow lane.
- Dedication to my ME time. So many moms lose their “me time” when they become a parent because they feel selfish or as if now they have to be put on the back burner and give all of their energy to their kids. I have learned how much MORE important it is, as a mom, to have this ME time. We cannot pour from an empty cup. In order for us to give MORE of us, we need to give to ourselves first. I wish more moms would understand the importance of making themselves non-negotiable and putting their Me time first. It is the most selfless thing we can do as moms! My ME time was important for my sanity pre kids and now is Non-Negotiable!
- Setting Boundaries. It is in my nature to be someone who thinks I can do it all and feels like I will make no excuses to do whatever it takes and find a way to make things happen. I am the “YES” girl. It use to be so hard to say “no” because part of me thought I could do it all and the other part of me was fearful of missing out on opportunities. Kids has taught me that I have to be very protective of my time, and energy, so NO is actually the ONE THING that can keep my sanity. Not putting to much on my plate has been another learned game changer.
- Less is More. As you all know I live my life with a less is more mindset. Everything from my circle of friends, workouts, material things, etc. I feel that quality over quantity is always the way to go. While trying to juggle being a mom, entrepreneur, wife, etc, this concept has made more of an impact. It is so easy to get sucked into the more more more mindset but in reality if we can learn to adopt a less is more mindset, we can see that we get BETTER results and in a much more manageable way. This point has been proven BIG TIME with my less is more approach to my fitness. While I use to spend countless hours in the gym working out (during my professional figure career days), now with my NO GYM necessary, less is more circuit workouts, I have been able to prove that there is so much to this mindset! Kids have sealed the deal that LESS IS ABSOLUTELY MORE, in all areas of our lives!
- Embrace the Chaos. I use to be someone who had to have order. kept my house a certain way, laundry always done, folded, put away before i left my house , etc. While I still live my life in a organized fashion, I have a new acceptance of what this looks like. Kids have made me put things in perspective and realize that a few extra things on the counter or extra load of laundry not put away at 5 a.m. is OKAY! We can either embrace the chaos and the season of life we are in or allow it to cause unnecessary stress in our lives. In summary, I have learned to not sweat the small stuff!
- #UNPLUG. Taking time to detach from social media, the day to day hustle of life is ESSENTIAL to our success. Success as a mom, coach, wife, business owner, etc. I use to be in work mode 24/7 and felt downtime meant I was missing out or going to get behind. Motherhood has taught me that having a day (at least) to unplug, get caught up on life and mentally remove the pressures from the weekday hustle is imperative to our success! Out of all the lessons, in the social world we life in today, this one has been HUGE! Giving myself permission to unplug with zero guilt has completely changed my world.
Thank you kiddos for teaching me such BIG lessons I carry over into all areas of my life and now can share with the world. xo Mommy!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the incredible moms out there that show up everyday with open arms ready to take on whatever is brought their way…
