It’s all about perspective.

As a teenager, working a part time job with school was stressful.

Then once I broke into the “working world” with a 40 hour work week + managing a house without kids; then there was more stress.

Then I added a part time job to my full time job totally a 60 hour work week + managing a house without kids; this added to the stress.

Then I entered ‘Mommydom’ – having the first baby + managing a house + returning to work with a 40 hour work week- this was more stress.

THEN- I had the 2nd baby + a toddler + managing a house + returning to work with a 40 hour work week + moving + renovating a new house- this was the Tipping Point!

I think we all have a Tipping Point. The point where one more item to your agenda can create complete dissaray . And this item can be so simple, like picking up something extra from the store for a school project. It’s such a small task but your bucket is already full and the last drop will tip that bucket over.

Did my bucket fall over at my Tipping Point?

Luckily it didn’t; but I knew it would if I added more.

I knew I was at my max. I had that deep anxiety that was yelling out “I CAN’T Take on ANYMORE”. My gut instinct was in survivor mode.

The only thing that kept my head in the game was I knew everything I was going through at that Tipping Point was transient. I knew moving and renovating wouldn’t last forever and that the house didn’t need to be perfect – I’m still unpacking 2 years later.

I also knew the girls were really very young (1 and 3 years old at that time) and that life would get “easier” as they became more independent (hopefully….😳…).

As for the full-time job- well that was not going to be as transient unless I planned for it-(we can leave this story for another time).

Shifting my prospective was essential to avoid my bucket from overturning. By saying to myself- “this will pass” or “it doesn’t need to be perfect today” – By coaching myself with these words, I was able to increased the volume of bucket allowing for a greater reserve volume. These words allowed for my bucket volume to get a little bit larger. So when things didn’t go as “planned”, I didn’t tip over!

And so Add some Reserve Volume to you bucket and shift your perspective if you are at that Tipping Point. Remind yourself that “this will pass” if it’s transient and “it doesn’t need to be prefect today” because -as my own mother reminds me- “Rome wasn’t built in one day”

And if your bucket is too full because your large item isn’t transient…and it will always take a large amount of volume- leaving little room for other items- Well then, we need to come up with an action plan to reduced the volume of this large item. Or if that is not an option, then maybe remove some other items from your bucket. (I will write more on this topic in future blog posts)

Thanks for reading!

xoxo

Sophia Noreen