One Shoe is of No Use to a Two Legged Woman - Work life balance

I’m a mom and I am incredibly proud of it.  At the same time, I’m a daughter and while I am tremendously proud of that too (I did a lot more to become and be a mom).  Being a daughter - at the age of 53 - is different work than being a mom, maybe even, perhaps even harder!  Really who knew?  Now I do. Do you?  I, at some point in my life thought I could be my own person.  I could make my own decisions, have my own thoughts, and make up my own mind. But aha… discovery time for me!  I still have mom and daughter to take into consideration

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I’m a two legged-woman, and consequently having only one shoe, aka being partially prepared to go through life does me no good. Walking through life as either a mom OR a daughter has not served me.   As a matter of discussion, what it really does is make life a lot out of balance.  Consider, ambling through life with just one shoe, even if the soul of that shoe is only ¼ inch thick, and you are pretty well grounded, you are still to some extent, off balance when you walk.  Now picture yourself with a 1’’ heel, really, talk to me about balance and comfort and being nimble and being able to run when you need to. None of which you are able to gracefully or effortlessly do as you attempt to navigate through life with just one shoe.

In talking with women I have learned that so many of them do this unconsciously. They are myopic on an aspect of their life, either on being a daughter, or a mom / an employee or mom / a woman-wife-girlfriend or a mom.   They think that they are making a decision from a balanced point of view when in fact these women are making a decision from an “OR / one shoed” point of view, not a holistic approach to living.

Earlier this week, I exchanged emails with an exceptional woman and family leader.  Notice I said “woman AND family leader”. With her husband, they looked at their lives and chose to live life from a place of love, harmony and peace and most importantly, do what was right for their family.  In looking at what worked for them.  The entire THREE generations of family members actively chose to move to a local that would be right for them. It fit their emotional, spiritual, lifestyle and cultural needs.

This family took six months to get clear about what brings them joy, what their financial requirements were and how they could be a stronger family and then took the next courageous act and made it happen. They uprooted the complete family so that the entire family could live balanced, wholesome and happy lives.  Wow, I commend and applaud that choice.

So I ask, when was the last time you looked at your work life balance and chose, what works and what does not work?  Have you recently taking your own life into your hands and said, X, Y and Z brings me joy and I am committed to bringing more of that into my life and less of 1, 3, and 5.  Frankly, it does not necessarily mean that you change locales. It could mean you change jobs, develop new or different friends, suss out new hobbies, find and join a church or spiritual home or approach your diet or exercise differently. 

Do tell - are you ready to accept that one shoe does no good for a two legged woman? By golly, I’m a two legged women and I want to stop hopping through life, NOW! And I want to do this for me, for my family and for my mother (and father)!  What new will you do for yourself today?

Friends, this is long enough for one read. Consider designing your life and making choices out of Personal Freedom, feel free to contact me. Also, check out my earlier posts on Personal Freedom.  I also offer coach and self-directed workshops on 3 Steps to Personal Freedom.  You can learn more about those at www.rightlysuccessful.com.

Until then, I would love to read your comments!

Robin