Moms today are full of it. That’s right – I said it. They are full of it. They talk about it all the time. It consumes their every thought. It keeps them up at night. It keeps them from waking up joyful. Like I said, moms are full of it.
What is “it”? Mommy guilt. You know what this is. You’re probably full of it too. Most moms are. Why? For one reason, society makes moms feel guilty if they are not raising perfect kids, while keeping their house clean, their husbands happy, their bodies in tip-top shape, and not having some sort of career. Anything less than that and you’re not doing enough. Hogwash.
If all you did was be a mom 24/7, that’s MORE than enough! Add to that a job, a home, a husband or partner and you’re over the top.
To make matters worse, moms pile on more guilt themselves! “I shouldn’t have eaten that whole piece of cake.” “I should’ve gone to the gym.” “I should’ve….” Well, you name it. Guilt is slowly stealing your joy and contributing to that sense of overwhelm you feel on a regular basis.
What is guilt really? Are we born with it? Do we inherit it? No. We are neither born with a spirit of guilt nor is it inherited. How do we get it then? We are taught guilt. As children, we’re made to feel badly if we don’t clean our rooms properly or if we hurt mommy or daddy’s feelings, or if we don’t do well in school. So, if you’re a mom walking around feeling guilty and talking about feeling guilty all the time, guess who’s hearing you the loudest? Your kids! Do you want them to grow up feeling this way too?
Of course not! So, what do you do? You stop. That’s right. You make a decision to stop feeling guilty. I did and I’ve never looked back.
How did I do it? Easy. I realized that I was feeling badly…all the time. I realized I didn’t want to feel that way anymore and I figured out that most of the things I was feeling guilty about were, well…sort of ridiculous. Yep – that’s right. Just plain ol’ ridiculous.
Why was I feeling guilty over working full time and having to put my children in private daycare when this resulted in them being so well prepared for kindergarten? Why was I feeling guilty over not putting my kids in twenty million activities when they really had no interest in most of them? Why was I feeling guilty over saying something stupid to someone ten years ago when it’s likely they have completely forgotten all about it?
Do you see? Silliness. Complete silliness. And so I decided to let it all go. Every last bit of it and so can you.
Decide today to rid yourself of guilt forever. Make a list of the things you are currently feeling guilty about and check off the ones that fall into the silly category. Simply eliminate them. Then cross off the ones that you cannot change, like having to work full-time and have your kids in daycare. Next, cross off those items that happened in the past. That’s right – cross them off.
What do you have left? Are these things you can change? If so, do it. Apologize to your husband for yelling at him over not taking out the trash. Call your friend who you said something mean to because you were tired. In short – change what you can change and leave the rest.
See how simple this is? You can do it and I guarantee that as soon as you do, you will feel like a twenty pound weight has been lifted from you. And who doesn’t want to lose twenty pounds?