For the very first post of the True Being Blog I wanted to share with you the two most invaluable tools I use to attain true balance, peace and fulfillment for myself in my career and as a mom. These two essential tools are 1.) an unwavering faith in myself and 2.) a deep commitment to inner peace.
Having faith in yourself is often easier said than done, but if I look back at any challenges I have faced over the past 10 years of my life when it came to my work or as a mom, the underlying factor that got me though those challenging times was a deep commitment to being true to myself and having faith that I could and would get through anything, no matter how painful, challenging or exhausting.
I should first take it back a bit and explain what my work is and how my life has unfolded over the past decade…
10 years ago I lost my mom to an autoimmune disease called Scleroderma. Losing her was absolutely devastating for myself and my family. Personally, I felt like I was left with a gaping hole in my heart when she passed. As I worked through my grief I was inspired to do something that would help raise awareness for the disease we lost her to and this eventually led me to create a non profit called Project Scleroderma. Project Scleroderma is an organization that creates documentary style videos of patients living with Scleroderma to help amplify their voices and struggles and to help bring attention to the critical need for support of life saving research.
7 years ago I had my first son, Shane. 18 months later my daughter Devin came along and 2 ½ years after that my youngest son Brendan came onto the scene. My husband works as an electrician and I have been home full time with the kids while also simultaneously running the non profit. Over the years, I have often traveled internationally to speak and film for my organization, pre-produced all of the videos we film and worked on several large fundraisers in the process as well. My work and home life are very much intertwined, for better or worse, and there have been many many times that I felt I simply couldn’t do it all – at least not well.
But deep inside there has always been a small voice guiding me, reminding me that I am capable of achieving far more than I realize and encouraging me to continue to have faith in myself. And that knowing has allowed me to successfully continue to follow my heart and produce projects that are meaningful to me while still being present with my kids.
When I say that I have found balance, peace and fulfillment in my life that is true, but that doesn’t mean that I come by any of it easily. In fact, I feel I have worked harder to learn how to create this balance than I have worked on anything else in my life. But the reward of that inner calm and peace is beyond worth it.
No matter what your circumstances are, the job of a being mom is no doubt a juggling act. And my heart goes out to each and every one of you who are bending over backwards to keep the family healthy, happy and running smoothly while also trying to follow your heart and do something outside of your family life that brings you purpose and fulfillment as well. Especially given our current COVID situation, we are all facing new levels of multi-tasking and juggling, is well, not even the word!
I get burnt out, I get overwhelmed, I lose my patience with my kids far more than I’d like to admit, but I have also cultivated a practice that saves me in these moments, a practice that gets me back in check and allows me to re-center myself. This involves a somewhat regular yoga practice (at home), nightly guided meditation before bed (via an app called Calm), a good nights sleep, and that ever important tool I mentioned earlier, a true faith in myself. When I feel like I can’t possibly handle one more stressful day, I throw a daily mantra into the mix that helps me access my inner calm, and that calm helps remind me that I am capable of handling it all.
I have used mantras for years now to refocus my thoughts from the negative to the positive. Depending on what I feel is challenging me most on a given day I choose a mantra that best fits. For instance, if I am feeling particularly stressed about getting my work done and all the distractions that are keeping me from it, I will start the day with this mantra: “It will all get done, I am calm.” It may sound ridiculous to think saying this to yourself will actually change anything, but I promise you it does. What it changes is your energy and your perception of the stressful situation. I set a reminder on my phone to alert me several times throughout the day with my mantra and I say it over and over in my head or even out loud, and I swear it has the power to completely shift my energy!
What I want to share with you most right now is that you are worthy of attaining this level of balance for yourself, you deserve to find inner peace, and you can 100% access the faith in yourself that will see you through. The potential to create positive change in our lives is available to each of us, within each of us, if we first believe in ourselves and then make the commitment to shift.
I will leave you with a list of mantras to choose from that you can use every day depending on what you are feeling or depending on which area you feel you need the most support in. Mantras have truly been life changing for me and I hope that they will be helpful for you on your own journey as well!
Mantras:
1. I can manage my stress by focusing on the power of my breath. (Take three deep breaths after saying this.)
2. I move through stress with a steady calm.
3. It will all get gone. I am calm.
4. I have the power to change the way I see this. I choose to stay calm.
5. I deserve to live with ease.
6. Peace is within my reach.
7. Smiling brings me joy.
8. In every moment, peace is a choice.
9. I am here now, I am focusing on this moment.
10. I am relaxing, I am releasing and I am recharging. (When you really need to take a break from it all, take a mental health day and say this mantra all day long!)
Wishing you calm, inner peace and joy today!
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