I was recently chatting with a friend… a fellow mom and entrepreneur with a full-time day job. She asked how I juggle it all. And as we all know, THIS IS THE QUESTION. We all think others can do more and better than we can. We make comparisons and assume there is something we don’t know. Because from the outside looking in, it often appears as if others do it all. But the social media highlight reel is deceiving.
My response to this question about juggling it all? I don’t… I just keep going. Because that is all you can do. Life is about moving forward. Success is about moving forward. It is impossible to do it all so instead you do what is most important. And as I reflect back on that conversation, I honestly don’t believe the goal is to juggle it all.
I recently read a blog by John Maxwell where he shared a thought about prioritization from Brian Dyson, the former CEO of Coca-Cola Enterprises. The general idea is that some balls are made of rubber. You can drop them and they will bounce back. Others are made of glass. The key is knowing the difference so if you have to drop a ball, you drop the right one. This is a perfect description for life as a multi-passionate, working mama!
Currently, we are remodeling our home both inside and out (it’s literal chaos), I have four daughters including a newborn, a restaurant/wine bar (which comes with its own unique challenges given COVID), a freelance writing business and was recently laid off from a full-time marketing role in higher education. And I will be the first to say that I cannot do it all. Nor do I pretend to. Instead, it’s about doing the best you can with what you know at the time.
While driving to pick up my oldest from an activity I was on the phone with my mom and I asked, “How do parents work AND have their kids involved in anything.” She admitted that she doesn’t know. I grew up in a small town and things were simpler. We lived near the school and I rode my bike everywhere. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work here. So instead, we feel the pressure to do it all. To be everywhere and everything to everyone.
It is our natural inclination to look at others and think they have it all together. To see the shiny surface, but not what is behind the scenes. And it is hard to look beyond what we see to someone else’s struggles. But know that we are all trying to balance life. We are all doing more than we should and doing our best.
I’m here to tell you to stop juggling. Stop trying to do it all and be everything. Instead, focus on momentum. Keep going even when things get hard. Keep moving forward and what’s most important will rise to the top. Everything else can wait for now.
P.S. A shout-out to all the mamas that show real life on social. Because the belief that some can do it all is toxic for everyone.
