How to Get Off the Hamster Wheel as a Busy, Working Mom
If I asked you how you like to celebrate your wins in life, would you have an answer? 🤷♀️
Or would you say, "I don't know. I've never thought about it before."?
We're taught to celebrate the big milestones in life. The birthdays, holidays, and anniversaries. The firsts and the lasts.
But the in-between, everyday wins, successes, and progress? Those aren't the celebrations we see very often.
And if we do, they can be seen as "too much" or "a little excessive".
But what if celebrating the smaller, in-between moments and experiences is actually the thing that makes life more enjoyable?
So many of the women I talk to feel like they're living in a Groundhog Day.
They're doing the same things over and over again - work, chores, parenting, sleep, repeat.
What they want is to actually experience their days instead of just get through them.
They want to get off the hamster wheel of doing so much. 🛞
Well, celebrating is the wedge that stops the hamster wheel from spinning.
Celebrating forces you to pause, to look around, and see all that you're already doing and creating in your life.
And for just a minute, before you jump into the next thing, you can be present and feel proud.
Celebrating your wins can look all sorts of ways.
It doesn't have to be something else to do. Like how planning a birthday party or creating magic around the holidays can turn into one giant to-do list (psst... 📣 look for an announcement next week on holiday planning!).
Celebrating your wins can be whatever you want it to be.
The only criteria is that you acknowledge yourself for whatever it is that you're celebrating.
If you want some ideas, here are a few favorite and most common ways that my clients and I celebrate our wins - big and small.
Go out for dinner
Take a trip
Treat yourself to something delicious
Take the afternoon off work
Toast with champagne or a glass of wine
Spend time with friends
Book a service at a spa
Buy a book, an article of clothing, piece of jewelry to commemorate
Have sex
Enjoy a fancy coffee all alone at a cafe
Reflect through journaling
Add your win to a list you can revisit and re-read
Take a picture to remember it by
Tell someone - partner, friend, colleague, coach*
*That last one is probably the most impactful way to celebrate.
To own your win, say it out loud, and be witnessed by someone else is powerful.
Personally, I'm practicing sharing my wins around the dinner table with my kids. I want to create a culture of celebration and when the win is something professional, it gives them a glimpse into what my work actually is and how much it means to me.
So, even if today feels like just another day, I promise you there's something to celebrate. Celebrate washing your face before bed or getting some steps in or handling that tough conversation in a way you're proud of.
The more you celebrate ALL that you’re doing, being, creating - the more comfortable celebration will feel and the more you'll see that there's so much worth celebrating and acknowledging.
The first step to celebrating more is seeing all that you're doing.
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