Mothercare

In my business, I’ve been spending a lot of time trying to decide what’s next. What should I prioritize? Where should I put my energy? These questions have been bombarding me almost to the point of inertia the last few weeks. In theory, I have more time because I’m not teaching for the next two months, so logically I should be able to pour more into my business. I’ve noticed myself spinning my wheels, but more importantly, getting down on myself because I feel I should be accomplishing MORE. As I’m conditioned to believe, my worth is still very attached to what I do, produce and accomplish each day. 

This week, both kids are in camp so, in theory, I have time to focus on my business. Unfortunately though, because of some struggles with one of the kiddos at camp, I have been completely preoccupied. My sleep is disrupted, my mind is considering all of the ‘what if’ scenarios, and I’m feeling generally quite distracted. 

This is when I realized I left out a critical part of the formula for my summer plans: Mothercare. As an advocate for maternal mental health, and motherhood in general, I surprised myself that I fell head first into this trap. I completely neglected to prioritize mothercare in my schedule. (Clarification - I am not neglecting my children! I only mean that I am beating myself up for not accomplishing as much as I thought I could and should. I expected to be able to replace my teaching hours with coaching and business building hours. This completely ignores the fact that although not paid work, mothercare work is something I want to equally prioritize. ) I coach my clients to view themselves as a whole - mother, professional and individual, each with their own equally important needs. It’s not always possible to prioritize all three equally at the same time all the time, but when things get sticky, it’s important to zoom out and look at the whole picture. Bringing in the holistic lens allows me more grace when things aren’t going as planned in one or more of the other areas. It also just feels more aligned with how I feel motherhood deserves to be viewed!

So for now, I’m going to reevaluate what is realistic for me as coach this summer as I bring more attention to my unpaid work of mothercare.