How to Crush Your Motherhood Mountains!

Do you feel like you are always climbing a mountain?

A never-ending mountain?

Well…

Motherhood is full of disappointments, self-doubt, and personal failure, or at least that’s what we tell ourselves.

Here is a big secret! Most of the time those mountains are self-created!

Self-created doubt about your ability to raise your child (children). Feelings of failure because you think what you are doing is not as important as potential income. You are not feeling appreciated, at all. Oh, and by the way your house is still a mess.

You are exhausted!!

When I start to create one of those mountains of self-doubt and insignificance, I go for a ride, and I crush that mountain!

It works!

Mountains to Crush!

There is this mountain not far from my home (about 40 minutes). I like to climb it on my road bike.

The ski resort at the top is 16 miles from the base of the climb. If I ride to the top, I will go an additional 1–2 miles and climb up to 7,600 ft approximately.

The elevation gain is significant when climbing this mountain. It starts around 2,700 ft and climbs about 5,000 vertical ft.

It is not for the faint of heart.

I can see the mountain clearly from my home.

Why is this significant to me?

I have never driven in a car to the resort. It has always been on my bike.

I am also proud to say I have one of the fastest female times climbing this mountain.

Every time I gaze at the mountain, it reminds me of what I have accomplished, so I look often.

What mountain do you look at?

Nothing motivates me more than to observe someone achieving!

One time I was driving down the road past a grassy area by a neighborhood, and I saw this amazing looking mom all decked out in her shorts and T-shirt juggling a soccer ball right next to her little son who was desperately trying to do what she was doing.

She made me smile because I have tried to juggle a soccer ball, it’s hard! I can’t do it! (Juggling a soccer ball is using your feet to bounce the ball in the air without it touching the ground.)

That’s a mountain to look at!

What have you achieved?

Not too long ago a friend of mine asked me if she could borrow a bike. She wanted to try a triathlon. The only bike I had was a mountain bike.

She didn’t care because she was determined to get in shape. At the time she had three kids and was caring extra weight because of it. It happens!

I was more than happy to let her use it!

A few months later I was driving down a road in her neighborhood, and I saw her, running down the sidewalk in her running gear! Shorts, a tank top, she had her music, and she was sweating! It was hot!

But what I remember the most was the look on her face, pure determination!

I was taken back with emotion because I knew how hard that was for her!

This image is seared in my memory!

I know her will to physically do something that was really hard for her has helped her through some tough times that came her way.

Her mountain to look at.

What do you want to achieve?

We all need a mountain to look at, something to accomplish; something to own!

Something You own!

Your motherhood journey is full of mountains. That is just how it is.

Stuff happens!

What I have found is if you can see your mountain to climb all those other mountains become hills!

So how do we do this?

My daughter’s cross-country coach has a saying, “Get out the door!”

Once you take that step, make that commitment to better yourself in whatever it is that is going to motivate you there really is no turning back!

You will become a different person!

Imagine knowing you can, at any moment hop on your bike or whatever (a car does not count) and with your physicality climb 5,000 ft! And then come back and make dinner for your family so you can take 2 of your kids to soccer practice. (This scenario has been a weekly experience for me for the last ten years.)

At the end of the day you not only took care of your family, but you were able to climb tall mountains, literally!

You took care of yourself!

That is the key!

Having those personal accomplishments, achievements, will help you overcome those Motherhood Mountains. How do I know this? I have been doing it for 23 years! (I still can’t believe I have a 23-year-old daughter, yikes!!!)

3 Key Steps to Crushing Mountains!

These steps are going to take commitment, and it won’t be easy, at first. But once you establish yourself in what you are doing and create those habitual daily patterns, it will be well worth it because you will not only be changing yourself physically but mentally and spiritually as well.

All these changes will bring you to a different level of managing your ability to raise your children and enjoy being a part of this process because you can!

1. Find your mountain!

What motivates you? Something you enjoy doing! I highly recommend it be an outside activity and one that will test your cardiovascular system.

Why outside? Getting away from “Home Base” and having no distractions but what it is you are doing is necessary to create a different level of mental process and spiritual being. Also, focusing on your outside environment will give you some actual physical parameters to aim for.

We all know cardiovascular fitness is a huge benefit to overall good health and well-being. Have you heard of “A Runners High”? It is true! That is called endorphins and will help you take on all sorts of mental set-backs such as anxiety, depression, and stress.

2. Commit to the climb!

Figuratively speaking this could be an actual climb, developing physical stamina to walk/run a 5K, 10K half marathon or maybe there is a hilly, challenging loop you can hike up, run, or mountain bike.

Commit to something! Give it a try and if you do not like the process after achieving the goal, try something else! There are lots of options.

3. Achieve the goal!

Be realistic!

If it has been years since you have done anything cardiovascular, make sure you have the health to do so by checking with your Dr. and always start small.

When you are climbing a ladder, you must take it one rung at a time. There are no jumping and skipping levels without potential repercussions. If you start too big, there is potential for injury and no-one wants that!

Commit to incorporating training efforts 3–5 times per week. Do not slack on this. To make this a part of who you are it has to become a habit. Once it is a habit, it will become something you can’t live without and drive you to success and over those mountains!

Remember, this is your time. Do not guilt your way out of doing it. Three to ten hours a week of physical activity is not going to take away anything you are doing at home with your kids.

I had a friend tell me one time that not taking time for yourself is like putting the seat-belt on your kids when you’re getting in the car but not putting the seat belt on you!

Wear your seat-belt!

There is so much more to this system that I will go into in my next article, but I want you to know, it works! Developing this frame of thought will help you overcome your mountains!

Crushing Your Self-Created Mountains!

Your decision to become a mom gave you superpowers to crush mountains! We forget about these powers in the hustle and bustle of raising our children.

Use this knowledge to achieve. Strengthen yourself to be the mom you want to be because this is your motherhood journey and whatever self-created achievements you do will give you the confidence to ascend any mountain that stands in your way.

Let’s face it; motherhood is not easy! That’s why it’s a mountain, a never-ending mountain. You think you’re at the top and looking around you realize you still have a long way to go!

But the journey is beautiful!

Motherhood is not a destination. It is a journey full of hills, mountains, and valleys! But priceless and worth the effort.

Have you been to the top of a mountain?

It is beautiful!

#motherhood #SelfImprovment #SelfAchievment #Climbing #Exercise