Have you ever wanted to be more than a mom? I know I have! I felt lost. The thoughts of having to choose between my dreams and my family were so real for me, and I made my choice. Sad to say that I chose to box my dreams because I believed that I couldn’t do both. Now I know that is not true, motherhood was certainly not designed to tame us. Nonetheless, motherhood is WORK!! So if you have been thinking about chasing your dreams beyond motherhood; here are 5 tips on how to pursue your dreams while raising your children.
Write your vision down
It is important to clear on your dream. What do you want to do? Why do you want to do it and who are you doing it for? You have to have a clear understanding of your dream before you can take a step towards it.
- Do your research on the idea you want to pursue, you don’t want to go in blindly.
- Check how much effort and sacrifice the dream will require of you
- Plan your execution
Communicate your dreams
It took awhile for me to grasp this when I became a mother; I was busy trying to maintain my good mom image (as though pursuing my dreams would make me a bad mother). Being open about what your dreams are to the people that matter to you is key. Do not be afraid to involve them. This will help you:
- Connect with them and hear their thoughts. I don’t know how many times I have doubtfully shared an idea I had with my husband and have him respond with so much support and encouragement
- Be accountable – Once you communicate something you feel accountable to the person that you shared it with, which pushes you to get it done.
Make time for your dreams
“You will never find time for anything. If you want time, you must make it” – Charles Bixton
Ahh! The biggest elephant in the room, TIME!! Motherhood is already demanding and you might have asked yourself “where will I ever get the time for my dreams?’’ Our to-do lists are already filled with so many tasks; even so, I encourage you to add your dreams to your list. This will inspire you to actively look for time to make it happen. Figuring out how to pursue your dreams while raising your children requires flexibility. I started with waking up one hour earlier and dedicating that time to my dream. You can:
- Work while your children are sleeping or playing or at school
- Ask someone to help with the kids while you work.
Schedule your dreams, only you can make that happen.
Know that it’s not a shame to start small
Do not despise small beginnings!! Pursuing your dreams does not have to mean “It’s either I do it all or I will do nothing”. Rather it be “I can do this now and that later”. Be kind to yourself and very mindful of the season of motherhood that you are in and how that affects how you can pursue your dream now. Do not compare yourself to other moms who are at a different season of motherhood than yours. Take it one step at a time.
Just do it!
“It doesn’t matter what you say you believe – it only matters what you do.”
― Robert Fulghum,
Nike said it, just do it! There will never be a perfect time to pursue your dreams, so don’t be afraid to start now. After you have done all of the above, take the steps required to achieve your dreams. All the dreaming and planning in the world won’t help you if you don’t do anything. It is in the doing. Yes, I mean between feeding and nappy changing, between homeschooling and play time – work on your dreams! After all, if you want to raise children who will not be apologetic about pursuing their God given purpose, you cannot afford to mirror anything contrary to that.
For the longest time, mothers have had to surrender their dreams to their motherhood roles and that is why we feel guilty about pursuing our dreams. I believe that it is possible for you and I to pursue and achieve our dreams and be good mothers. I wrote these 5 Tips on how to pursue your dreams while raising your children to get you started. What do you do to chase your dreams as a mother? Please share in the comments below.
