Own Your Life
With kids back to school is a mixed bag of emotions for moms. Some moms can’t wait to get their routine back while other moms don’t want to let go of the freedom and relaxation of the summer schedule. No matter where you lie on the spectrum, back to school time is a mental and physical shift for moms.
Back to school time is a perfect opportunity for mom’s to do a mom life audit. A life audit sounds fancy, but it’s really just a gut check to make sure your values align with how you spend your resources. A life audit is basically a thorough evaluation of your life. Chances are over the past 24 months you’ve experienced some major life changes either personally or professionally. Every now and then it’s a good idea to step back and take a 10,000 foot view of your life. I mean really, truly, how do you think you are doing, mama? Are you where you want to be in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years? What’s on the horizon for you? What do you do that you love? What do you wish you could do, but don’t? Do your goals in life align with your actions? Do the people around you support your goals? What are your goals this year?
Now is just as good of a time as any to do a life audit. Typically audits are conducted by a third party, but you can do a life audit for yourself, but if you’d rather have a third party help you, I would be thrilled to be your mom coach.
What is a life audit?
A life audit is a thorough evaluation of your life through the lens of each of the 8 dimensions of wellness (physical, emotional, financial, occupational, spiritual, social, environmental, intellectual). The purpose of doing a life audit is to gain self awareness. It is through self awareness that we are able to identify opportunities for growth in life. A life audit can direct our next steps in life and give us a greater sense of purpose on a day to day basis.
Do you need a life audit?
Over the course of our lives we live through many experiences. With each experience comes a shift in our perspective. As our perspectives change, so do our priorities and life goals. As our goals change, so do our strategies and plans to achieve our goals. A life audit is a tool to help re-evaluate and re-strategize life to achieve self-actualization. What are some of the key signs to look for when determining if it’s time for you to do a life audit?
Do you feel like an aimless mom? What brings you joy during your day? Do you live a purposeful life?
Are you an overwhelmed mom all the time? (always running late, disorganized, too busy to catch your breath, sleep, or even eat/drink?)
Are you experiencing a major life change? (all of your kids are in school full time, empty nester for the first time, new job, you’ve become a caretaker of your parents, experiencing a new romantic relationship, grieving death of a loved one)
Do you crave change or need personal growth in one or more aspects of your life?
Do you feel like you can’t get past a plateau? Are you in a rut of unmet goals?
Mom’s experience many life changes personally and also as a parent. Making time to conduct a life audit creates a chance for a mother to be transparent with herself and her family and/or spouse about her needs and personal goals. Too often mom’s are silenced by their own isolation. They are alone either because they are a working mom who spends her day crushing the corporate life and her nights running the household or it’s because they are stay at home moms that dedicate their career to raising their children while their spouse can conquer their career goals. Either approach to modern motherhood is isolating.
“Women do not have to sacrifice personhood if they are mothers. They do not have to sacrifice motherhood in order to be persons. Liberation was meant to expand women’s opportunities, not to limit them. The self-esteem that has been found in new pursuits can also be found in mothering.” Elaine Heffner
I know that it sounds daunting to do a life audit, but it’s so important to spend time on your personal endeavors and interests. You will still be a great mom even if you spend time on yourself. All moms need regular boosts of self confidence and we can get that self confidence from setting a goal and achieving that goal. By the end of your life audit, you will have a better perspective of the gaps in your life so that you can then devise a way to achieve balance.
How to do a life audit?
Prep and Prepare
Make Time
First you need to set aside 1-2 hours to do your life audit. Time is a mother’s most precious asset so prioritizing yourself during your spare time can be easy to postpone. I suggest you solicit some help from a friend and/advocate to ensure that you get precious “mommy me time” when you are alert and ready to reflect on your life with uninterrupted intention.
Get Tools
All work requires tools and so obviously, this work will require some too. Download and print the life audit worksheet. Splurge on some fancy pens or markers so you can jot down your thoughts as you go through these easy steps. Lastly, you’ll want to find a space where you can spread out comfortably.
Complete the Life Audit
The purpose of the life audit is to gain self awareness in order to identify opportunities for growth in life. There are no right or wrong answers for the life audit so do your best to be honest with yourself. This exercise is for you and about you. If you’re ready to let go of stress in your life, then this is the moment to seek the truth.
Step 1
Understanding Wellness
Using the life audit worksheets, answer the questions for each of the 8 dimensions of the wellness.
Step 2
Wheel of Life
Enter your rating/scores for each of the 8 dimensions of wellness on the Wheel of Life. Once you enter all your scores on your Wheel of Life you can see a visual representation of your current life.
Step 3
Self-Reflection
Vision
Brain Dump
Create a plan to restore balance to your wheel of life so that you can live a life of self-actualization.
Stop Existing and Start Living
All moms have goals and aspirations and one day we hope to fulfill them. It’s so easy to lose sight of your personal goals once you have children. Putting your children's needs and goals before your own is a natural maternal instinct. I know what that looks like in real life. It’s lonely and sad. In order to realize our dreams moms have to stop existing and start living.
DOWN LOAD THE FREE MOM LIFE AUDIT WORKBOOK BELOW
mom life audit workbook
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