Has this ever happened to you…you wake up one day and all the sudden everything is clear?  You know exactly what you should be doing and you know exactly why you are doing it.

I can honestly say that I can count on one hand how many times this has happened to me in my lifetime.

But, this last time was different.  It had an impact on my family life, my emotional health, my physical health, my spiritual health, and it also had a huge impact on the way I ran my business.

You may be wondering what could have such an impact on…really…all areas of my life.

The answer is simple.   Clarity.

Knowing what was important to me, what will get me out of bed in the morning, and what will drive me forward all day, was the answer to finding a better way to live my life.

Let’s back up a minute…to over 19 years ago when I gave birth to my first daughter.  I was one of those irritating parents that wanted to do everything right…all organic, cloth diapers, scheduling out naps, researching the best practices for newborns etc.  I am sure I ticked off a few other parents that had it more together than I did at the time, but the truth is, I was terrified I was doing it all wrong.  Kind of like those memes that say “Behind every cute baby is a parent that has absolutely no idea what they are doing!”.  Yep, that was me.

I felt judged at the playgroups, I felt inadequate when my friends would tell me how well their baby was doing, I felt like a failure…like, all the time…I was ignoring my husband because I had nothing left for him after a full day of beating myself up about how I was failing at taking care of our new baby…this new, sweet life that was fully reliant on me making the right decisions.  Argh…the pressure!

I watched what other parents were doing and I tried to do the same…I read books and tried to follow along…I was trying to get it all right…but in the end it wasn’t right at all because I wasn’t following my own heart…my own intuition…and my own ability to be the best parent for my baby.  And…it wasn’t the life I wanted to live.

Now, it wasn’t all bad and looking back, I had to go through this to get to where I am.  I feel strongly about learning lessons and using them to do better.  Once we know better, we can then do better.  I didn’t want other parents to go through some of the things I did, so when my second daughter was born, I started a business writing parenting how-to books filled with tips, tricks, research-based content, and a list of local resources…so that parents knew exactly who to call when they needed help with anything to do with parenting.  The books were, and still are, given free to all new parents by nurses in hospital or by midwives…and a few other places!

So, here is where it gets interesting…to me anyway:)  I created a business that serves ALL parents and I always thought that I could do it all…but always feeling like I was falling short…but it was only when I changed my mindset that I realized I could do it all…but it had to be one step at a time….one parent at a time…starting with ME!  My AHA moment for sure.  The clarity I was looking for.

And that is when I thought about what would have made a change to me 19 years ago when I had my first baby.  And I circle back to Clarity…knowing what I should be doing and why I am doing it.  Can you hear the fireworks going off…the applause?  Finally, she’s got it!

I did a full evaluation of my life and what I wanted my life to look like, who I wanted in my life, how I wanted to parent, and what thoughts, ideas, actions, and goals, would fill my soul and keep light and hope in my life.

The end result looks a lot like the life I was already living, but now it is filled with the answers as to why I am living this life the way I am.

The clarity.

I wanted to be more present for my family and communicate better with my husband.  I wanted to know that my actions would create a connection with my kids that they will look back upon and smile about.  I wanted to love more, live more, stress less, and give more of myself to all the things and people that I love.

So, now when I get up in the morning I know the path…and it isn’t just to the coffee maker anymore:)

Wishing you clarity in your life too.