"Changes in attitudes... Changes in latitude." -Jimmy Buffett Heeello! I am back from maternity leave and I have missed you all. I am so happy to be seeing all of our clients again, talking with adults, and showering more frequently(ish). And I am very excited to get working on all of the projects that I dreamed up during my time off. Here’s the thing… I love my work, and true confession, I am a bit of a workaholic. My default speed is petal to the metal, lets go! Maternity leave was good for me. It forced me to slow down, to do a lot of quiet thinking, and lots of snuggling of course. It was good for the soul. My new baby girl, Brooklyn is amazing. She is perfect in every way. I love her and my son in a way that is so intense I wasn’t even sure it was possible. They say when you make the decision to have children, it is like making the choice to give up your heart, to forever have your heart walking around outside your body. I feel this to the core. “Making the decision to have a child - it is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ” The transition back to work (as I write this we are 3 days in) have not been so smooth. I did not expect this to be as difficult as it has been on my baby girl…….. and on me. I feel like a part of me is missing during the day and she is protesting by crying and not taking her bottle. In short, she is not embracing this transition, she is protesting all the way! This did not happen with our son and has thrown me for a loop. Before I went back to work, I wrote out my priorities on the whiteboard in my office. I felt really silly doing this because… seriously… do I need a written list on my whiteboard (the same whiteboard where I write our annual goals, big projects, and quarterly tasks) to tell me that my health comes first, then my family, then work, then friendships? I guess I do… I love my family but my default is work work work. I am in the health and fitness space and sometimes I can forget to eat or even skip workouts in favor of getting a project done. Also - health comes even before family because you can’t pour from an empty cup. Having my priorities listed out this way have helped me feel good about this week. My daughter needed me so I dropped everything to be with her. I didn’t stress about what wasn’t getting done at work. Work can wait.
This week has also made me think about how there are different seasons in our lives where our priorities shuffle around. Early in my career, before having children work was towards the top of the pile as I was establishing myself. Friendships also took more of a front seat in my life. The transition and shuffling of priorities is always the hardest. The transition from 0 babies to 1 was much more difficult for me than 1 to 2. I think that is because it was going from an independent (free) person to being a mom. That was the first real shuffling of priorities in my life. All of a sudden, my work had a hard stop at 5:15pm. (I could have easily and happily worked 6am to 7pm.) You know what I found… I found that I was much more productive. I focused on the things that mattered. I cut the activities that didn’t move the needle. I became more focused. Sometimes you need a major life event to evaluate what is important in life. Sometimes you need to force yourself to sit down and think about what is truly important, most critical, and needs your undivided attention. What are your priorities? How have they changed (and how have you adjusted) as you have moved through the seasons of your life? Any words of wisdom for me as my daughter and I are adjusting after the maternity leave bubble? Take Care, Paige If health isn’t your #1 priority - you may consider bumping it up your list. It doesn't have to take that much time or be too complicated to focus on your health and well being. You can start with just 5 simple habits that will have a massive impact on your life. Download our Habits for Massive Impact PDF here: https://www.wilcoxwellnessfitness.com/habits-for-massive-impact.html
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