The Key to Being Authentic (Even as a Mom!)

Being authentic to yourself as a mom is harder than it sounds. From the time we find out we are pregnant, we are told that it is time to grow up. We are given detailed lists of the things we will have to give up. What we can, and cannot do is already being dictated by this tiny little human taking up residence in our womb.

And once delivery time comes, it gets even better. Now we are told to give up any time we had left to ourselves. We give up precious sleep, and are told we will never get it back. We give up all hopes at a social live, and are then told it is normal.
Yet, we are told at the end of the day that in order to be happy, we need to be authentic to ourselves.
How in the hell do we determine if we are doing that? We cannot even figure out how to take a shower by ourselves before what’s left of the hot water runs out. I mean, seriously, where do we even start?

Is Your Day-to-Day Making You Happy, or Content?

You wake up in the morning. What are your first thoughts?
Are you ready to jump out of bed and rock out your day? Or are you practically in tears because the alarm clock is going off?
Mama, if you are ready to get down and dirty and find your authentic self, then you need to start picking apart your day-to-day. Are you finding fulfillment in your daily activities, or are you simply content with them because they are filling your time?
This is serious stuff. If you are simply content because you are making it through the hours you are required to be awake, then you have totally let yourself be lost in the rush. Chances are, if you are merely content in your life, then you have allowed your authenticity to slip away and replaced it with a more complacent version of yourself.

Fun stuff, right?

Are You Passionate About What You Are Doing?

I do not care if you are a stay at home mom, or a CEO of a large corporation. If you are not passionate about what you are doing, you are no more authentic then that knockoff Coach purse being sold around the corner for $20.
Some people live to absolutely be filled with splendor over raising kids, and need nothing more than their kids activities to fill their time.
You may or may not be one of those people, and that is okay. The key here is finding something in your day to be passionate about. Something that brings you back to who you are.
If you want to ensure you are being as authentic to yourself as possible though, making sure that you have a fire of passion lite around whatever it is that you are filling your time with is essential.

Do The People Around You Positively Reflect You?

Every mom has a tribe, but is yours a reflection of the person you want to be?
Studies have shown that we really are the people we hang out with.
They have also shown that having no one in our tribe will leave us to be a depressed, screwed up mess, so let’s not take that route.
Being authentic to yourself therefore, means surrounding yourself with people who help you to feel most yourself.
Feel your best when you are creative? Hang out with a crew of DIYer’s and artists. Want to organize your way through life? Keep friends who are great at decluttering and prioritizing. Strive to always be on time and prepared everywhere you go? Don’t hang out with my friends.

Seriously though, finding out if you have completely lost sight of who you are, can often start simply by looking around at the people you are closest with.

Is Your Direction One You Are Proud Of?

Want to be authentic day in and day out?
Make sure you have a cause. Better yet, make sure it is one you are proud of.
Steering through our days on autopilot, doing nothing more than being content, leads us back into a hole of unhappiness. It leads us to become the depressed, anxiety ridden mom that society often paints moms out to be.
Defining clear, measurable goals that lead you in a direction that you are excited about. This will set you on course to learn, grow, and achieve, all while putting your most authentic foot forward. Even if these goals are stemmed around making dinner or cleaning your house, at the end of the day, you will feel more accomplished that you have achieved them. Plus, if these goals are part of your passion, you will feel that fire inside you growing.

Are You Satisfied?

This is the kicker.
At then end of the day, if you are being authentic to yourself, the answer to this question will always be “YES!”.
If you are passionate, happy, goal seeking, and surrounded by people who believe in and support you, then you will end each day feeling satisfied and fired up about tomorrow.
If you are not being authentic to yourself, you are going to know. Mainly, because at the end of the day, you are going to feel like somethings missing. And guess what mama, it’s you!

Crazy Mom Talk

Having kids and being a mom does not mean we have to lose ourselves, but if you listen to societies cues, it isn’t hard to do. How conducive is it to our parenting however, if we are trying or damnedest to teach our kids to be confident little individuals, yet we cannot even remember the last time we felt like our self?
Could you imagine though, how much better off our kids would be if they could see their mom’s being authentic to themselves all day, every day. If they saw first hand, you seeking the thing that sets your soul ablaze? Think about it mama. Ensuring that you are being authentic to who you are is important. It is vital not only to your mental health, but to your children’s as well.

So mama, where do you sit? Are you being authentic to yourself, or are you sitting on the sidelines letting someone else define you? While you are working on figuring out who you are, check this out for self care ideas in 30 minutes or less.