Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. – Henry David Thoreau. I once had big dreams for myself. Huge ones! I was a visionary. Then, I became a mom, and while it was at once the most significant, wonderful, and life-changing thing I’d ever done, it was also something that threatened to consume me. Being consumed by your children is a beautiful thing, to a point. Being overtaken by your role as a mother is not. Between caring for my home, husband, kids, and working, I started to completely lose touch with my inner voice and lose sight of how I needed to use my gifts to make the world a better place.
Motherhood is one of the real crossroads we experience throughout our lives. You can let it consume you to the point where you no longer remember what your dreams really were, or it can push you to be strong and thrive in ways you didn’t even know you were capable of. Here’s the thing. Moms are strong. We have to be! If aware, you can harness this strength to be an amazing mom and an incredibly effective woman.
For me, I didn’t realize or harness this strength until I lost a baby during a mid-term miscarriage. I was crushed and emotionally wrecked for awhile, but the painful experience is what propelled me to do a great deal of self-analysis and finally take steps to remember my dreams once again by getting in touch with my deepest desires, and then creating my dream life in a way so that I was true to myself and my life’s purpose. I realized I could definitely do this while setting a good example for my children and being a much happier, present, and energized mom.
Here are a few compelling reasons why you should become clear on your dreams and start taking steps to living your ideal life today, no matter how busy, overwhelmed, or crazy your life might already feel:
- You have something very special to share with the world that needs to be expressed in the way that only you can. If you don’t use your unique gifts, the world will miss out on you. How sad!
- You will be a much happier and fulfilled woman when you are living on purpose. I have had more deadlines and things that should have been stressful during the last year while writing my book on a short deadline, but I have never felt more joyful, awake, and on fire. I am a better mother because of it!
- As an environmental consultant for a large engineering firm, I felt stress daily. As an author, I have not yet felt stress. I believe that living your dream might bring a little anxiety, but when you are working for something you believe so strongly in, the stress is different. It’s good.
- As a mom, isn’t it one of your greatest hopes that your children follow their own dreams and create lives of beauty and purpose for themselves? The best way to help them do this is to do it yourself. Set an amazing example.
- If you are married or in a relationship, I would bet your partner was attracted to the confident and purposeful woman he originally fell in love with. There is nothing sexier than a woman who knows what she wants and knows how to use her gifts and talents to make the world a better place.
To live your life most fully and joyfully, you need to express yourself and use your gifts. People get stuck thinking that following their dreams only means impactful big things, so they get overwhelmed by trying to create a grand vision. Your dream may be simple, and at this phase of your life, it might include spending most of your time at home with your children and selling your art on ETSY, counseling people part time, or starting a new blog to share your recipes. For others, climbing up the corporate ladder or working and using a hard-earned graduate degree might make you feel as though you are living on purpose. Your gifts are unique to you, and it’s up to you to figure out the best way to share them.
I would love to hear about your unique dreams and aspirations, and how you have taken steps to live on purpose while raising children. Please share with me at www.facebook.com/ErinCoxAuthor!
