You know those people who love to tell you to “go all in”? To go hard or go home? Start big and get it done? The sky’s the limit? You can do anything you set your mind to? Et cetera…
That’s used to be me. Oh don’t get me wrong!
I’m not telling you not to dream big. I’m not telling you not to set big goals or high standards. I would be an absolute hypocrite if I did that, because I do dream big. I do set big goals and high standards.
But let’s be honest. We’re mothers.
A cup of tea that is able to be drunk while it’s still hot is a bonus some days.
So while I still {dream big, set big goals and high standards} I’m trying more and more to be realistic about how I achieve them.
We can have a big goal… but it’s not necessarily going to be achievable in the timeframe it would have been pre-kids.
We can set high standards… but give ourselves plenty of grace and understanding when we fall short.
We can dream big… but have peace in knowing that it may just take a bit longer to see that dream come true.
When you’re a mother, it’s all about small steps.
It’s all about understanding your limits, not pushing yourself to exhaustion, overwhelm or burnout, and about accepting that successes which are achieved over a longer period are still successes.
Not everything needs to be achieved overnight. Not all new habits need to be implemented yesterday. Not all new goals need to have a 30 day deadline.
If you’ve been struggling a bit to feel that you’re achieving much more than just keeping the kids fed and warm…
- STOP.
- Understand that you are doing an amazing job.
- Breathe.
- Pick a goal or dream that you’ve wanted to achieve for a while.
- Write down every single task that you need to complete in order to achieve that goal…
- And then slowly work through and tick them off.
Remembering that it doesn’t have to happen overnight.
Small steps: just keep taking them.
