Making Your Career Goals And Motherhood Work Together

You can smash your goals in your career, and start a whole new career for yourself with your children as your inspiration, here’s how.

Mothers have it hard when it comes to working. It doesn’t matter how far we come in life; we will always have that pull between our children and our career. The thing is, mothers often feel that there needs to be an either/or. There doesn’t have to be a choice when you can have both. The only difference is that this time, you have to blend your career and motherhood so that it all works together in sync.

Mothers are tired, stressed, stretched and worn out, but that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be able to continue on in their careers. Most women press the pause button on their career to have children, but the pressure to come back to the workplace way before they are ready is real! You have career goals, and you want to achieve them, but pushing yourself through the weeks of motherhood and not enjoying them as much as you could is the result of trying to force yourself back to work. It would help if you didn’t have to do that – any of it. 

Caring for children brings on a whole new set of responsibilities that most employers don’t consider relevant. Yet they are. Childcare costs may be keeping you from returning to work but motherhood gives you a new perspective on life. You may choose to step away from the workplace and find a whole new career blossoming underneath you. You may also use the childcare facilities at your job to stay in the game. However, you could also choose to do it differently this time.

You could decide to go back to school, looking at online colleges for psychology degrees and choose a new career path – inspired by your new role as a mother. You could go back to your current job but ask for flexibility and work from home. There are ways and means to have a career and be a mother: you are still the same woman. You can do both, and you can do them both exceptionally well. There doesn’t have to be a big decision here.

It would help if you explored what you want, what you need, how much salary you need to survive and more. Beyond everything else, you need to remember that it’s a good thing for your children to see you achieve. Below, we’ve put together some of the ways you can make your career goals work hand in hand with your other career: motherhood. Let’s take a look while remembering that all mothers mother differently, so it stands to reason that all mothers will do their jobs differently.

Comparison Is The Thief Of Joy

You cannot put yourself up against other working mothers – that’s the first rule here. You want to work and be a Mom, and that’s great, but believing that the mother of three with ten years of vital career experience will have the same situation as you? That’s not going to go well! Look at what matters most in YOUR case, and focus all your energy on it. There is no use in forcing yourself to do more and be more when you can only give so much. Honor your limits and be proud of yourself without the comparisons to other mothers.

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Talk To Your Kids

If you have a baby, you can’t exactly ask the newborn what they want from you. However, the older children in the family? They’ll be able to articulate what they need from you. Ask them how they feel about your choice to retrain and do something else. Ask them how they’re doing. You can talk about your definition of standards for your family, but they won’t always match up to what your kids want. 

Strike A Real Balance

Those family holidays and school events are essential. Working from home can sometimes cause a blurred line between the personal and professional life you have. However, you are in charge of what’s important and what isn’t. Mark all of the important dates on your calendar and block them out – no work on those days. The kids are important they will notice when you don’t show up to things that are important to them. Make them feel good, and you’ll have far more confidence in the way you balance your life. 

Talk Through Your Choices

You have to liaise with your boss about what you want to do. Some mothers manage to go into the office and balance the kids, but there are always projects that trigger a ton of overtime. It would help if you let the kids into the decisions here. If you have the chance to work flexibly from home or study to learn something new, ask them what they think. They need to know that you value their thoughts on the matter. They also need to know that you will prioritise them first. They’ll respect you more when you ask their opinion.

Plan Ahead

If you want to get your career goals working hand in hand with motherhood, you need to plan this out properly. Your schedule for school and work is going to be hectic, and your schedule for the family is going to be the same. Never just plan for the week ahead, but the month and year if necessary! Planning is the tool you need for success.

Don’t Go It Alone – If You Don’t Have To

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You can be a single mother and have a career and boss the two things together. However, if you do want to go out and find a partner, make sure that you choose someone who is going to be supportive of both of these aspects of your life. You want to know that they are there for you every single step of the way, and you want to ensure that you have a real partnership: a strong one. Balance is hard enough between kids and career, don’t then have a third choice in your partner.

Choose The Right Fit

What do you define success to be? What does it look like to you to make your career goals and motherhood work together? Whatever that vision is that you have in your mind, go and get it. If you are not in the right situation to fit your insight into your success, get out of there now and make it work. You see, your success is going to come from what works for you and while you can make the goals you have work with your kids, you can only do that if you know what it looks like.

Don’t Forget You

You have goals and kids, and life is busy. However, you should never forget yourself. You can choose to go ahead and smash life, but you need to take care of yourself along the way. This struggle isn’t just for mothers; it’s human. You want to have the best for yourself, and you should have it – but it takes work. Know your limits and honor them. Know your boundaries and meet them. Push them a little if you must, but if it is at the expense of your kids, don’t push too hard. Give yourself a break from time to time and remember that you are a human being who needs to be loved and supported. 

You can smash your goals in your career, and you can start a whole new career for yourself with your children as your inspiration. Go and be awesome, Momma, you deserve this!

Making Your Career Goals And Motherhood Work Together appeared first on Mompreneur Media