by Wendie Blair
As a mother who raised five children, I know what it’s like to struggle with making career moves and developing professionally. Especially when you’re a single mother. Professional development requires a certain commitment and dedication. The type that can easily consume more of your life than you can spare while raising children. The internal guilt filled struggle that occurs is real! You may feel like you must choose between being a good present and active mother and developing yourself professionally so you can give your child(ren) a good life financially. It seems as though no matter which you choose the child(ren) will in one way or another be lacking. If you don’t choose to commit to professional development, it may put a strain on being financially stable. If you do choose professional development, it may put a strain on your home and relationship with your child(ren).
The great news is, you don’t have to choose. You can and are already doing both. Motherhood is a remarkable parallel to professional development and being one is already preparing you. There are a great deal of traits motherhood consists of that are directly relative to any given profession or business operations. Some examples are:
· Organization
· Budgeting
· Conflict resolution
· Scheduling
· Policies & Procedures
I could go on and on, but you get the gist! These traits are not commonly thought of as or linked to professional development. At-least in our minds they’re not. They’re not even given the above labels most times. However, the basic principles of the above traits are what we need to consider, not necessarily the specific action or scenario in which it was practiced.
So, let’s compare!
Organization
Part of motherhood involves knowing what is needed, how to get it, and where it will be kept. This includes clothes, food, bills, schools, doctors, kitchenware, phone numbers, cleaning supplies, etc.
Budgeting
Many people relate the meaning of the word “budget” to people whose finances are limited. This is inaccurate. The amount of money one has is irrelevant. Budgeting entails deciding on a specified or maximum amount of money that will be allocated for any given purchase. Mothers do this everyday in order to efficiently run a household. Balancing the purchase of all the items listed under organization and more is budgeting.
Conflict Resolution
There are and/or will be times when you must resolve issues. These issues may be behavioral at school or home. They might be with teachers, another parent, among your own children, with a doctor and diagnosis or medicine, and many more. No matter the issue or situation, it will have to be resolved and you’re the mother. The conflict could even be between you and your child(ren) as they’re coming into their own individuality and their opinion differs from your own.
Scheduling
This one is probably easier to relate. Knowing your necessary tasks and aligning the implementation of them up to not overlap as to effectively get through each day with all tasks completed is essential. Work, school, dinner, shopping, appointments, etc. are some examples.
Policies & Procedures
Raising a child requires rules. You as the mother must set the rules. The child must know what those rules are and the consequences of breaking them. This is a vital aspect of any business in any industry known as policies & procedures.
Now that you have a better view of how motherhood is parallel to professional development and that you don’t have to choose one or the other. Find out how you can create the balance needed to effectively choose both. Read my article “The frustrated professional” here https://www.successinbalance.com/post/the-frustrated-professional
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