5 Insights to Help You Be a Motivated Mom

Would you describe yourself as a motivated mom? Or do you find it hard to stay motivated day in a day out with the many challenges you face?  Do you look at your daily to-do list and you just want to fall back into bed and hide under the sheets? Some days it feels hard to be motivated, but it doesn’t have to be.

Photo credit: delia in a nutshell

You might be surprised to find out that motivated moms do not wake up with a morning smile and say, “I am motivated today!”  True motivation that will endures will take time to nurture and care to maintain.

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Let’s look at 5 strategies that will help you find your motivation and be a motivated mom.

Strategies to be a Motivated Mom

Have A Clear Purpose

The beginning point of motivation for moms is having a clear purpose.  If you don’t know what you are doing or why you are doing it, you will have a difficult time being motivated.

You might be surprised to know that I get up at 4:15 am every weekday to work on my blog & side business.  Because I am motivated to build this business and make changes in my life, it’s not hard for me to get at this time.  I have a purpose.

What about your responsibilities as a mom? Parenting is hard. My children constantly challenge me and push the limits.  To be a motivated mom (and not just quit and give-in my kids demands), I also have to have a clear purpose.  How do I want to raise my children?  What kind of grown-ups do I want them to become?  My purpose as a mom strengthens my motivation on the hard and challenging days of parenting.

If you don’t feel motivated today, take 15 minutes and write down your purpose.  What is your purpose for being a mom?  What is purpose in your work?  What is your purpose in your home?  As you write, be as clear and specific as possible.  As you become clear with your purpose, you will start to be more motivated.

Get Plenty of Rest

Tired moms are not motivated moms.  It’s important to get plenty of rest (and keep yourself hydrated too) if you want to be a motivated mom.

When my children were young, the girls did not sleep through the night until each one was about 5-year-olds.  We don’t realize how tiring the constant interruptions to our sleep become.   I made the mistake of not compensating for the sleep interruptions when I children were young and I was always tired.

To find your sleep time, figure out how much sleep you need each day, then add any sleep interruptions. This will tell you how much hours you need to allow as “sleep time”.  Finally, take the time you get up each day and count backward the number of hours you have determined as your optimal sleep time.  Here’s an example:

You need 7 hours of sleep to be well rested each day.

Your children will wake you up 2-3 times and you will be awake about 1 1/2 hour each night because of the interruptions.

You need to get up each day at 6:30 am.

So, you need to allow 8 1/2 hours of sleep time (7 hours actual sleep + 1 1/2 hours for interruptions).  If you get up at 6:30 am, you would need to be in bed by 10:00 PM each night to obtain the right amount of sleep each day.

Recommended for you: 10 Self-Care Ideas for Busy Moms

Find Your Inspiration

What inspires you?  I mean truly and deeply inspires you to take action and get things done.

Your inspiration may be a person.  Your inspiration may be the person you want to become in 3 years or 5 years.  Your inspiration may be your dreams.

Your inspiration will get you up and get you into action every day.

Take time and define what inspires you.  As you become more inspired, you will also increase in motivation.

Visualize Your Outcome

Having a vision is a power motivator.  Being able to envision a future and a dream come true will give you motivation on days when you are tired and don’t feel any purpose.

The more clear and vivid your vision of the future, the more powerful your vision will be to motivate you to take action.   Define your vision.  Who do you want to be?  Where do you want to live?  What will your children be like?

You can be very specific and have a vision for a dream home, dream car or dream vacation.  The plans you envision will motivate you into action.

Sometimes, It Just Requires Old Fashioned Grit

Some days, you just have to take action and get things done.  Some days, your emotions and purpose will wane.  Some days, you will be tired.  Some days, you will not feel inspired and you will not be able to envision your outcome.  On these days, you just gotta dig deep, find your grit and get things done.

Grit means doing things we don’t want to do but know we have to do.  Grit gives us the determination and will power to do what others won’t do.

Motivation requires work and the right mind set.  Start with a clear purpose of what motivates you. Be sure you allow yourself plenty of rest.  Find your inspiration and vision.  But remember, some days being motivated just means having grit.

Your turn…

What motivates you?  How do you stay motivated?