Are you ever Really Ready?
This week I was thinking back to myself in 2019. Preparing to step into motherhood, to be honest, I was freaked.
So, what do I do when I am freaked? I think of 1001 ways to ‘be prepared’. That’s right. I look into EVERY manual, resource, plan, counter plan to make sure I can ‘get through’ this tricky thing. There are many ways that we as humans handle big changes and mine was always – PLAN. 5 years later, as I sit in a deep seat of reflection, I now know that most of the time, it is impossible to 100% plan for anything.
When I am in a space of anxiety, I have traditionally looked to ‘control’ everything – control the amount of ‘life coming at me’, control the actions of people around me, control how everything is handled and done. It helps for a while, right?
However, over the years I have learned that it is truly just a false sense of control that I am creating for myself and this false control will later morph into something beyond overwhelming and different from what I originally thought. So, feeling in control is truly a myth.
Before I had Koah, some of my ideas about the future were as follows…
I don’t need any help from anyone, I have got this handled!
I will work/ exercise on naps and when the baby goes to bed early!
I will have a most perfect birth, nursing journey and recovery
Having a baby can’t be that steep of a learning curve right? Just some sleep changes?
And here is the thing. I could never have really known or prepared in full for everything above. I could not yet have known the temperament of my baby, the changes to my brain fog/creativity right after having a baby, the extensive recovery from my specific birth and that actually, NO one should be doing this alone.
Beyond that, it is not just a learning curve on sleep, there are decisions you have to make that you cannot even consider before you hold that baby in your arms – health decisions, ways to parent decisions, screen time exposures, thumb sucking, pacifier sucking, when to worry about this or that developmental milestone. And the list goes on.
And so, I am able to take these learnings from motherhood and apply it to absolutely everything around me. Are you ever ‘really ready’ to leave your job, make that move to the city you dream of, take on that new role in the charity you love? I truly believe no, we are never really ready. Because God reveals each piece of information that you need when you trust first.
As a human being who is growing in motherhood and entrepreneurship, I have learned that a plan is essential but it cannot be everything. And that when we learn to lean into a fusion of mindful planning + radical trust in something greater than us, the timing will always be right.
PS. If you have been considering life coaching to get back into alignment with who you are and what you desire and ‘the timing never feels right’, this might be your big nudge that today is the day. Message me to chat more on Instagram @emilyelliot__
