Cutting Out The Life Clutter

0

Tired of waking up feeling like another day was going to pass me by with little success, I wanted something to change. As an overachiever  – wife-ing, motherhood, friendships and everything in between – was getting a C- from me at best. I wanted to pop out of bed ready to face the day and feel like I could tackle any challenge that came my way. Mind you popping out of bed will never happen because my bed is awesome and the man I sleep next to is an amazing snuggler, especially when I have to go to work, but I digress.

I wanted to feel successful at something and I had to figure out what that translated in to for me. I went through weeks at a time trying to determine what I was achieving and what was falling by the wayside. I was mentally taking notes as to when I was the most exhausted and what was really filling my bucket.

I started asking myself the question “Who am I doing this for?” If I was taking on a task, attending an event, or picking up the phone to talk to someone, I constantly asked myself this question. If the answer wasn’t an immediate response to something that made me or my family more connected, happier, or less stressed, I started cutting it out. Saying no wasn’t easy at first, but every time I thought about my general feeling of failure, uttering the word “no” became easier real quick.

As moms, we don’t get to take care of ourselves and nurture the relationships that we value, but we do have time at the end of a long day to scroll through all the social media and wonder why we aren’t doing/accomplishing/achieving more. Don’t let your Instagram/Facebook/or other form of social media feed I’m not up on fool you. This stage of life is tough!

We are keeping humans alive and I’ll be damned if that isn’t more of an accomplishment than it feels like. So, take pride in what you are are able to achieve. Relish in your successes, rather than beat yourself up about the failures. Then, I encourage you to cut the clutter in your life by coming up with your own question that helps you put your priorities first. You’ll be amazed at how much happier you feel and you’ll start to recognize that you are doing the things that make your life what you actually want it to be.

Previous articleFour Ways to Set the New Year on Fire
Next articleA Southern Snowstorm to Remember
Erica Rabhan
A South Carolina native, Erica is originally from the Upstate and has moved back to Charleston with her family after a 10 year, traffic-filled hiatus in Atlanta, GA. Having lived in only two states she likes to explore different cultures through travel and food.  Of all the hats Erica wears her most important roles are as a wife, mother, daughter and fundraiser for her alma mater, College of Charleston. She has been married to her college sweetheart for 13 years and together they have to kiddos that keep them on their toes.  She prides herself on being honest about motherhood and enjoys learning from other moms who tell it like it is. When life offers a little down time Erica enjoys wave jumping at the beach, unapologetically watching bad TV and organizing and re-organizing everything from the dishwasher to the sock drawers to help calm her inner OCD.