Have you ever just wanted someone to tell you you’re doing a great job, mama? Have you struggled with finding validation in motherhood?
Back when I was at my 9-5, my colleagues and my boss would compliment my work fairly regularly. And it made me feel really good.
The comments were simple — “Wow, this is awesome!” “Great job!” “I’m so impressed with this,” — but they meant a lot to me.
When I left the 9-5 and started working with clients, I also craved that validation. Sometimes, it even felt like that “You’re amazing” meant even more to me than the money I got in exchange for doing the work.
But when you’re the boss of your business, you don’t always get that validation from others. There isn’t always going to be someone to come by and tell you, “Hey, you’re really showing up and being consistent! You rock!”
It’s kind of like motherhood.
I mean, really, when was the last time your kids told you, “Hey, mom? AWESOME job there. Your laundry skills are ON POINT.”
Yeah. Me too.
The thing is, though, we need that positive reinforcement. When someone tells us we’re doing a good job, that everything will be okay, that we know more than we think we do, and that we’re making a difference — those things feed the soul. And they give us something deeper, something that straight up cash money doesn’t always provide.
I’m working behind the scenes on the first ever Free Mama Retreat. I have a background in event planning — but I’ve never hosted my own three-day event before. For me, having the chance to talk to people who have done this before — and hearing them say, “Hey, you’re doing a great job here” is so, so, so important.
It’s not that I need people to tell me that I’m wonderful. But I do need someone to let me know that I’m not screwing everything up, to reassure me that I’m on the right path, that I’m actually going to pull off an incredible experience for 100 amazing women.
That’s also part of what I want for you at the Free Mama Retreat — to meet the people who will validate you and help you with finding validation in motherhood. To hear from the women who have walked this path, and who can tell you, from experience, that yes, you’re doing it right. Yes, you’re rocking this out. Yes, your success is inevitable, and you are awesome.
And just in case no one has told you yet today, let me be the first: You are doing an absolutely incredible job, Mama.
Now, go look in the mirror and repeat that out loud.