Moms! Have an OK DAY

As Moms and in particular, Moms who work, we can often set the expectation we have of ourselves really quite high. While I think this is important, I also think that at times it can cause us to have a meltdown! This is because we set the bar so high for ourselves that when we don't achieve it (occasionally), it can really drag us down and make us feel rnlike we are a failure, or a failure as a mom. And that is not true.rnRather than striving for excellence, I want to give you permission to simply have an “OK Day”. First, take an area you’d really like to excel in. That might be for you to be the best mom that you can possibly be. Somebody who listens rnto your kids, who always has lots of energy for them, who takes time out to understand them and what's going on in their lives. All amazing, amazing goals, but then there is a part of you that thinks, "And how do I exactly get there when I have everything else to juggle?" The first thing is to do a sliding scale. If that amazing, energetic, listening, compassionate, understanding Mom is the ideal, what would be an OK Mom in your eyes and in your life look like? Given everything else that you have to juggle? You might decide that it's just to spend half an hour at the beginning and at the end of the day, completely uninterrupted, not focusing on anything else, not watching TV, not doing anything else but being absolutely present with your kids and just finding out a little bit about them. Just chatting to them, spending time, hanging out with them. For you, that would be “OK”. That seems so little, half an hour twice a day, right? But if you add up half an hour, twice a day - in three months that's 125 hours. Can you imagine what you would know about your child in 125 hours? You would know what they are interested in. You would know what makes them laugh. You would know a bit more about their rnfriends. You would know a little more about what they are fearful of. You would know a little bit more about their dreams. How amazing would that be? And all that knowledge would enable you to have a deeper, more meaningful relationship with your child. It would allow you to discover things that perhaps would have been left, or would not have been surfaced. And you two are going to be an absolute tight knit little team, which is amazing. If you have four kids, you spread out that rntime and make sure you spend the whole total time with them. By setting out to have an OK day, you could actual get an exceptional result. Whereas when we set out to have an exceptional day we get really despondent and demoralized when we only get something that's “OK”. If you look for the OK and set your goal for getting an OK day, the results that you get could be absolutely spectacular! Think about the areas that you really want to get better in. It might be something to do with work, it might be something personally, rnit might be something with your kids. Work out what would an OK day look like in that area, and then set out every day to have an OK day. rnAnd over a week, over a month, over three months, just you look back and see how far you've come.rnYou’ll be amazed. OK is A – OK! your day!)