Why Mom’s Personal Development Matters

Plant Growing in Hands

Mom’s role often resembles a supportive bra – gets everyone where they need to go in one piece and makes everyone look good while doing it. Although most resent admitting it because we should know better, our mantra is “everything and everyone before us” or we feel guilty or (dare I say it?) selfish.

If a free minute surfaces, something isn’t clean, straight, or ready. What mom actually sits on an overstuffed chair in a local café with her favorite beverage and reads “The Bliss of Creativity”? Most just dream about it, or put it on the “one day” list.

There are reasons for that.

Personal development seems time consuming, and let’s say it again – (the “s” word) selfish. Most moms experience stunted growth until the kids leave home. But this approach to “everyone and everything else first” can lead to anger, resentment, and/or lack of creativity. When mom’s growth is somewhere between training the dog and getting ready for Christmas in July, everyone suffers.

But if we could remove the “s” word for a minute, mom’s personal development is an investment in family life that is repaid daily. Here are some of the benefits families experience when they make her growth a priority instead of a dilemma to be solved.

Improved Household Happiness
The old adage is true, “If momma ain’t happy, don’t even walk through the door.” Personal growth leads to wiser, contented, and happier moms.

Wiser Care of Others
When mom works on her own personal issues, she can help others work through theirs. For example, if mom can’t get over an anger issue, she will pass it to the children and the anger will be multiplied. But if mom spends time and energy working on that, the whole home begins to shift. Additionally, she becomes equipped to help her children process their anger.

Growth Spurts
As moms experience the process of growth and transformation, they become attuned to their children who grow and change daily. They develop a keener sense of shifts and changes in their children because they experience the process in their own lives.

The Value of a Mom
The family values mom because she values herself enough to make a place for herself in the home. As the family moves to support her need for time, space, or finances, others make minimal sacrifices so she can tend to herself. She is as equally as “worthy” and “valuable” as the infant and the teen. She is taking her rightful place as a human being to grow, live and love.

Most families live with moms who dream of personal development, but rarely make it a reality. We no longer live in decades where a fulfilled mom is a social “danger”. When women make their growth a priority at some point during the week, the family growth is also exponential. Mom becomes better equipped to care for her family while creating an environment where each member is valued and encouraged to become who they were born to be – even mom.
©2011 The Mom Whisperer

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