Navigating Career & Motherhood(3/4)
A woman who rides the success wave as an underwater photographer or a pilot, financial adviser, management consultant, pearl diver, bartender, bus driver, or police officer is very often suddenly swung back looking for answers after she is delivered of a child.
And there comes a phase when she has to choose between motherhood and a thriving career. The former takes precedence for many as it becomes the purpose for the latter to exist. As C.S. Lewis said, “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only — and that is to support the ultimate career. ” Motherhood indeed answers the existential crisis, spurts inner growth, shuns worldly desires, and above all, is a spiritual discourse with the almighty. But the problem arises when motherhood chose over career.
The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry conducted a survey in 2015 that revealed that a growing number of highly educated women in urban India are abandoning their professional lives to become full-time mothers. Raising children side-by-side with pursuing a career has become too complex a task. Assocham interacted with over 400 mothers in the 25-30 age group in 10 cities to learn about their employment-related decisions after motherhood. So today, we talk about other two tips to help you balance career and motherhood:
Leave work at work
I struggled with shifting from work-mode to mommy-mode until I read about this little exercise that I now swear by and use with my clients. After work on your way to pick up the kids, release your day at work and set intentions for your evenings. If it’s a Friday, release your workweek and set intentions for your weekend. This can be done in the car or anywhere else you can find a few moments of quiet.
Close your eyes and take five long, deep breaths. Imagine the workday and everything you accomplished that day or week, clearing and releasing from your body. Be grateful for it, acknowledge it, and let it all fall away. Then set your intentions. My intentions are usually “I am a loving mom; I am a fun mom, I take my family on adventures and give my kids new experiences. I use my weekends to take care of myself, relax, and spend time with my family, and I love my life. I am so blessed. I am so grateful.” Repeat your intentions over and over as you drive away from work, and you’ll pick up your kids in mom-mode rather than stress-mode.
Find childcare you love
This is a very personal choice, but knowing that you love and trust where your child will be spending their time away from you, makes life, work, and motherhood SO much more enjoyable and less stressful. It’s such a wonderful feeling knowing they are happy and in a beautiful environment with loving people or staff.
I decided to have a nanny for both of my children until they turned 18 months. Over half my salary went towards paying the nanny, but I loved knowing my babies were at home with someone giving them the one-on-one attention I wanted them to have. They then moved to an in-home daycare around 18 months with someone I loved and trusted dearly. I have plenty of friends and clients who swear by their daycare centres and wouldn’t trust anyone else with their kids – as I said, it’s personal. Find what works best for you, so you feel like your kids are in the best place possible.
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