Is Working "Worth It" When You're a Busy Mom?

Do you love your job?

I'm curious if that answer has changed over the years. I know it has for me, especially after having kids.

Before I had my oldest child, I worked because frankly, I was ambitious. After working hard for my degree and taking risks to get internships and move to new cities, I wanted to put it all to good use.

I wanted to learn, to network, to get promoted and "feel accomplished". I wanted to prove myself... And I needed insurance and money to pay the bills, buy clothes and fund trips and nights out. 😜

Since ambition was all I had known, after I had my Henry, I was READY to go back to work.

I missed the structure and routine. I missed being an expert (I was clueless about parenting!). And I missed feeling like I was striving toward something. Plus, let's be honest, I missed adult conversation!

I desperately hoped that by going back to work I would feel like myself again (read more about that here).

But it was during this time that a shift happened.

LOVING YOUR WORK

It started with Henry and grew stronger with each of my next two maternity leaves - this need to really LOVE my work. To feel fulfilled by it and for it to be my purpose in life.

Because, if I was going to leave my kids for 40-50 hours a week, pay an insane amount of money for childcare, and cram all of the household responsibilities into my weekends, I needed my job to be "worth it".

Have you ever felt like that?

Like there’s this pressure for your work to be worth the cost?

That in order for work to be “worth it” it needs to be fulfilling, your passion, or you at least need to love it?

So many of the women I talk to have felt a similar shift.

They've started putting all of this pressure on themselves and on their jobs. And then they feel disappointed and frustrated when it doesn’t live up to their expectations. Some even consider quitting or exiting the workforce.

And so I’ll ask you what I ask them…

Why do you work?

.

.

.

What does your job do for you?

.

.

.

Is it the work or is it how the work fits into your life?

.

.

.

Who decides whether something is fulfilling or worth it, anyway?

Unlike knowing that there are 16oz in a pound or 52 weeks in a year, there is no standard metric. Which is both frustrating and freeing.

If you get to decide, then it's up to you to decide. And how exactly do you do that?

Well, as your coach, I would tell you it's a process.

A process that combines your head and your heart. Your logic and your intuition.

You can start by looking for answers to the questions above.

Looking for proof that there is value in the work that you do, even if it's just money to pay the bills or insurance to cover your family's health.

(Because I have news for you, no job is perfect at providing everything you need.)

Then you start where you are, with the job that you have, and the work that you are already doing. Learn the skill of feeling content with and learning from your current position.

If you don't learn it here, those feelings of discontentment will follow you from job to job, from home to job, or from job to home if you decide to take a career pause.

Your job doesn’t provide you with feelings of fulfillment or purpose or satisfaction. You do.

And you decide what's worth it.

THE WORK IS WITH YOU

I coach women all the time who are grappling with questions about their work and career. Questions of whether being a working mom is for them. Women who want to change jobs, change careers, get promoted, start a business or take a break.

And yes, I’ve even coached women who've ultimately decided to opt-out of the workforce for a while. But because of the work we did together, they went into that new season of life owning their choice and the role they play in feeling fulfilled and content.

If you’re feeling unhappy or stuck in your current work. If you’re feeling like you’re on the edge of a change. If you’re wanting to feel fulfilled and purposeful and like your work is "worth it" life coaching is for you.

The best place to start is by signing up for my weekly coaching emails "Working Mom Wednesday" where you'll get a tip, a tool or a strategy each week on how to better manage work and life as a busy, working mom. Click here to join the 600+ women who are creating better balance.