Discovering and Living Your Passions as a Mother

Discovering your passion As mothers, we give so much to our families that sometimes we can lose touch with ourselves . If you are not sure what your passions are, here are a few reflection questions to help you begin thinking about them: Which activities in your life make you feel happy, confident, or energized? What parts of your life would you be willing to suffer or sacrifice for? When you do feel the most at peace?

What kind of things are your friends and family always coming to you for? What are some of the passions, traits, or lifestyle qualities you admire in others? Making time and energy for passion s If you get a group of moms together, you will hear different stories about how they engage in their passions. For some mothers, their parenting has helped inspire them to hone their passions and develop new ones.

For others, they have put their passions on hold while they raise their kids, hoping to come back to them later in life. Some moms have a middle-of-the-road approach, looking for ways to involve their kids in their passions or engage in them in nuanced ways that allow the balance and harmony they seek for their families. We asked some of the mamas in our community to share their tips for integrating their passions and their families.

Lisa Draper- Implementing systems and asking for help Lisa Draper is a mother of three, an artist, and owner of Draper Fine Art. She had this to share when we asked her how she maintains her passion-driven business and family life: “The biggest things I’ve found to be essential in balancing my family and my passion-driven art business is taking as much off my mental and physical plate as possible. This is generally a combination of a) implementing systems, and b) asking for help.

Implementing systems: I wrote out what I need to get done minimum for each day, each week, each month, each quarter, etc. I then placed each in a pocket sheet protector, in a binder I keep on my counter at all times. When I finish an item, I cross it out with a wet erase marker. This way, even if I’m out of town for an art show, or away even for a few hours, anyone who comes into my home can run it smoothly.

This has allowed me to clear a significant amount of mental space, and allows me and my team to work more effectively. My husband is also an entrepreneur, and currently works 80-100 hrs/week. Because of this, I’ve had to learn how to ask for help outside of my home, which has been an emotional and fiscal challenge! Employing teenagers to manage my lawn, a young adult to help with some studio and housework, and of course, Momni for client meetings and me-time has been an incredible weight off my shoulders.

This combination allows me to get what I need to done, while still being very involved in my home and in the lives of my children. It has also been better monetarily and sanity wise for me than a full-time daycare solution where I do everything with my house, yard, AND business while missing out on time with my kids.” Cynthia Giles- When your family leads you to your passions Cynthia is mother of seven and passionate about family life.

She had this to share about her road-map to pursue her passions while raising kids: “I am really passionate about family life which means that I very much need to nail family relations. I think the number one roadblock in family life is conflict, so I want to master conflict resolution. I’m studying so much about it now. It fascinates me and has become a passion.

It recently came to my attention that conflict resolution and peacekeeping can be attained through higher education. I’m in the thick of child rearing so I’m drinking in all that I can find informally online. And dream of possibly studying this topic formally.” Jessica Bryan- Including your kids in your passions I am a mother of two, the Director of Strategy at Momni, and a certified yoga instructor. Here are some ways I share my passion with my kids: “I discovered yoga and mindfulness practices years ago when I was going through a challenging divorce and became a single mama to my two very young children.

During this season, yoga became an integral part of maintaining my mental health. Between my work schedule, childcare difficulties, and financial situation, I struggled to consistently make it to yoga classes. With a little bit of research, I was able to find many free and donation-based community classes. Many of these classes were outdoors and I would drag my kids along with me.

I used Instagram and Google searches to find inspiration about how I could physically incorporate my kids into my yoga practice. Through the years, yoga has become one of my favorite ways to play with my kids. The way we practice yoga together has evolved as they have aged and grown bigger, but I still love to have “snuggle savasana” with them at the end of every class. My youngest daughter even coaches me on my breathing when she senses I am getting frustrated about something.

Initially, I included my kids in my yoga passion because I had to if I wanted to practice. Now, it is one of our favorite family activities.” At Momni , we believe in the passionate dreams of mothers everywhere to create, achieve, grow and experience life to its fullest. However, we also understand how hard it can be to cultivate your own passions when life is a blur of middle-of-the-night diaper changes, temper tantrums, lunch packing, and sleepless nights.

We hope these tips help you discover and find fulfilling ways to live your life. We would love to hear more about you! Email us at support@momni.com and share your passions, tips for living them, and photos.