How to cultivate more balance in motherhood
/How to cultivate more balance in motherhood
Motherhood can feel busy, relentless, and tough at times and it can feel difficult to find any sense of balance. It feels hard to cultivate the balance because it is hard. Motherhood is hard and so it’s even more important to get creative and find different ways to cultivate balance and calm.
Balance in motherhood doesn’t mean that everything runs smoothly all of the time, it means moving with the ebbs and flows of each day, each season and allowing yourself the space to be present, being aware of what you need and allowing yourself the space to also meet your needs.
The guilt for making time for yourself may still be there, though it is important to meet your own needs too. Having more balance, more joy, won’t avoid the burnout, or the barriers, it will empower you, allow you to cope with the harder situations with more patience and calm and it will help to build your resilience.
Cultivating the balance, means being aware of the days when things do feel easier, when you are able to be more present and becoming aware of how that feels, what led you to this moment and how might you be able to replicate that and those feelings next time. It is about having compassion for yourself on the days when it feels harder and when the scales tip and things feel less balanced, and noticing what you might need to tip the scales back the other way slightly.
Ways to cultivate more balance
1. Get creative – creating the time to be creative, on your own or with your children and family not only boosts your own creativity and allows you to be present, it also boosts your children’s creativity too.
2. Journaling – Spend time journaling, using prompts or cards to support digging deep and listening to your intuition.
3. Gratitude List – Make time each day to think about what you are grateful for, you may wish to do this as a family at meal times or before bed.
4. Being aware of your own needs – Having an awareness of your own needs and what might best support you will allow you to add more of what you need in to your day.
5. Make time for self care - Take time to care for yourself, that might be going for a walk, reading, writing or doing something that brings you joy.
6. Connect with nature - Take time to be outside in the fresh air and be present within your surroundings, allowing yourself to notice the natural world around you.
7. Be kind to yourself - Be kind and compassionate with yourself, instead of focusing on your mistakes or limitations.
8. Spend time with friends and family - Spending quality time with your loved ones and accessing this support network is important for finding balance within your life.
You can find out more about how I can help you can thrive in your life and cultivate more balance here.
Find your further dose of self care in the Positive Wellbeing Zine for Mums here