I struggle. Every single day. I wonder if I’m good enough, smart enough, fast enough, talented enough. I doubt myself ridiculously in everything I do. Especially this past year. I’m in this transition in my life that often has me questioning my worth. My value and even my sense of humor.
I have the tendency to internalize all my struggles. And when something goes wrong I immediately think it’s all my fault. In fact, this past year a few things happened where I had to make pretty significant changes in my professional life. Business relationships that didn’t turn out the way I thought. It can be difficult to mix business and friendship, and that’s a lesson I learned the hard way. In the end, though, we are all moms just trying to do the best we can for ourselves and our families. We’re all unstoppable in our own way, and there’s a sense of peace that comes in recognizing that.
When you work for yourself the ebbs and flow are all over the place. There are so many times when I’m unsure of what I’m doing. But every time I learn something new that I was approaching all wrong—I focus on what I learned from that moment. But boy, as a business owner—those face plants HURT when they happen!
Every single day I have doubts. But there is one big thing that I will NEVER doubt. I may not be able to control the actions of others—but I am 100% in control of my own.
So what do I do to keep myself up when I can easily crawl into a hibernated state of self-doubt and misery?
I wake up. I put one foot in front of the other and I FAKE IT till I MAKE IT. I don’t claim to have all the right answers. In fact, 99% of the time I GOOGLE it! I am the first to admit when I did something wrong. I’m always the first to apologize because conflict gives me anxiety.
My friend Cindy Simmons lives by ‘just be kind’ mantra like I do. She’s a smart mama for sure and she too has had significant struggles in life. Surviving Mommy is her digital home. There are so many GREAT women in this world like Cindy who thrive on building other women up. And I got the chance to experience that while in New York in September. Not only by the other women in the campaign but from Kelly Ripa AND her daughter!
Truth be told, the opportunity to take part in this campaign with Children’s MOTRIN® couldn’t have come at a better time in my own life. I am often asked how I get these amazing opportunities like meeting Kelly Ripa and watching my son light up the universe with his charm.
I have absolutely no idea.
But you know what I have to remind myself?
This opportunity was afforded because I AM unstoppable.
Motherhood has given me this superhero strength that only God can really create. And when I doubt myself I look at my boys and see what genuinely caring kids they are. When they see someone hurting? They both RUN to them to cheer them up. They got that from me—a characteristic that isn’t so bad after all. Compassion.
I’m going to continue to use myself as a platform to help others. I have a story to tell. And an opportunity to shines some light in a very dark world. Not to mention, I have four eyes watching my every move. Two very important people growing up in this world need me to be fully aware & engaged. They need to see the difference between right and wrong. They need to see me fall but they REALLY need to see how I get back up and go for it again.
When I first told Boston about this fun getaway in September, I knew that I wanted him to LEARN something aside from how cool he was going to be after doing an ad campaign with Children’s Motrin® & Kelly Ripa. Did I know what kind of ‘teachable moment’ this whole experience was going to be? Not a clue. I am grateful though for seeing those teachable moments for what they are.
This experience with Children’s Motrin® happened for a reason. Everything happens for a reason. I am on a mission in 2016 to focus on the positive. The raw, unedited—yet polished—part of living. During this video shoot, Kelly Ripa was a shining example.
Funny story…so she was shooting with Boston and her crew was sitting in seats watching the shoot and I leaned forward and asked an adorable woman to snap a pic of Boston’s smile for me because I couldn’t see—-she was all over it! She smiled, was attentive to my questions and even commented on what an adorable boy he was. I didn’t know it at the time but guess who that girl turned out to be? KELLY RIPA’S DAUGHTER!!
So if Kelly Ripa, one of the brightest stars in television can raise amazing kids that are kind, thoughtful and genuinely GREAT people? We ALL can do this. This world is giant. There is plenty of room in it for all of us to live.
And you know what else?
We can all be unstoppable.
I have been compensated by and received information and materials from, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division, the makers of Children’s MOTRIN®. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post.
Visit MyUnstoppableMom to create your own book cover with your kids and celebrate your unstoppable power as a mom seen through the eyes of your kids! Also, visit #MyUnstoppableMom to learn more about how the makers of Children’s MOTRIN® are supporting literacy for those in need.
This post originally appeared on RealMomMedia on November 15, 2015.
