It’s the start of a new day.
The alarm has gone off at 5am again.
You begrudgingly flick it off wishing you could just sleep for another couple of hours.
You are so tired from staying up late the night before working but you also know that the way you start your day has a massive effect on the way it plays out.
So you get out of bed, put on your workout clothes and go to the lounge room to meditate, journal and read before you go to the gym.
As you do this you breathe in the silence of your house, your husband and kids are still blissfully asleep. It’s the calm before the storm.
For just a moment you allow yourself to drop into beautiful thoughts of the dream life you want to live.
Fun and loving connection with your kids, passionate connection with your husband, doing work that fills your soul and has an impact on the world. Travelling to all corners of the globe taking in the gifts each country has to offer. Running a successful business earning more money than you know what to do with. Living in your dream home.
With a smile on your face you take a deep, satisfying breath.
You are jolted back to your current reality by a dog barking. The smile disappears from your face and is replaced with a look of defeat.
This dream life seems so far away at the moment.
Connection with your kids revolves around you yelling at them, ending in tears for everyone.
You feel more passion eating a chocolate croissant than you do with your husband.
Your current house looks like a bomb has hit it and the only travelling you are doing is to drop the kids off at school and occasionally have business meetings.
Your life is far from being light, fun and easy. It feels more like a stressful battle each day, despite your best efforts.
I get it, I know exactly how you feel. This was my life only a few short months ago.
Recently I was gifted with the experience of going to America by myself for 3 weeks.
Yep just me (and a girlfriend for the first half) no kids, no husband. All. By. Myself.
Cue Celine Dion.
Except I wanted to be all by myself.
This trip was something that I desperately needed even though we couldn’t really afford it. In reality the money could have been spent on other things my family needed.
But I knew to the core of my soul, that this trip would be a turning point in my life and that I simply had to go.
You see I was at the point of wanting to leave my family. I had even had discussions with my husband, telling him that I think everyone would be better off without me.
Everyday I was yelling at my kids and hating them. Of course I loved them, but I really didn’t like them.
I was resenting my husband and things had become so broken between us that I felt like I was living with a room mate and not my life mate.
Everyday I was spinning the wheels in my business, feeling more and more like a failure as I drifted further and further away from my dream life.
Too many days had been spent sobbing on the floor.
The world was caving in on me and I was about to break.
You’ve probably heard it a million times “take time out for yourself”, “fill your cup, so you can fill the cups of your family” yada yada.
We get told, go and get your nails done, have a massage, go to the gym and have some “you” time.
Well, I was doing all of that and yet it wasn’t cutting it for me.
I needed complete separation from my family. Some time to spend with just me, worrying only about what I was going to eat, what I was going wear, where I was going to go, when I washed my clothes, who I spend time with, what time I woke up, what time I had dinner and not have to think about anyone else.
Yes I felt selfish for doing it, but I could see no other way out of my despair. In fact my soul kept telling me that THIS was what I most needed to do if I was to be the kind of mother, wife and business owner I desired to be.
The time away from my family allowed me to reflect, recharge and realize that I have been the source of my own experience all this time.
All of the heartache, trouble, feelings of brokenness and failure were all due to the way I was choosing to see, and I had the power to see my life in a way that made me happy or in a way that quite frankly, pissed me off.
It gave me the opportunity to recalibrate my mind, relax my body and love life again.
It really was the BEST thing I have done in my life for a long time.
The connection I have with my kids is stronger than ever. I love them again wholeheartedly. Sure they still trigger me, but I no longer react to them. I see them as the beautiful beings they are.
My marriage is passionate again. It feels like it did 15 years ago when I first met my husband. The word giddy would be a good way to describe how I feel.
Even more powerful is the way I communicate with my husband now. Totally open and from a place of complete worthiness instead of being fearful that he would reject me or my desires.
My business is going ahead in leaps and bounds. My drive and passion for healing women and helping them transform their own life and get out of the prison in their minds, has returned with a vengeance.
So my question to you is when can you take time out for yourself that is more than just an hour or 2 here and there?
I’m not suggesting you need to take an overseas trip. If you can, do it.
But I am suggesting you aim for a decent break, at least a week long, where you go by yourself or with some girl friends. Not even with your husband.
It can take a lot of organizing, and you are probably thinking you couldn’t possibly leave your family or your business for that long. Anything is possible and I promise it will be well worth it.
Give yourself time and space to reconnect with the woman and little girl inside of you.
I promise you everyone will be better off for it!
Then gift your husband the same experience of connecting with himself. They need it too.
About our Ausmumpreneur Expert :
Simone Outteridge’s purpose in business is to change the way women think, so that they can change the life they lead. She believes everyone is a leader, title or no title and that leadership is not about creating followers, it’s about creating leaders. Women are more powerful that they realize, yet we are taught to shut our brilliance off from a young age. Through The Liberated Leader program, Simone assists women to tap into their brilliance and truly lead their lives and be the inspiring example for others to do the same. Simone has over 17 years in sales and account management for major multinational companies as well as over 6 years experience running her own business. Bringing over 20 years of personal development study as well as certifications as long as your arm Simone works with women 1-1, in groups, in workshops and also loves to speak!