Overcoming your fears and showing up anyway.
Podcasting is not something I ever dreamed or hoped to do. In fact, I really never wanted to do anything like this at all. I’ve lived most my life trying to be unseen and unheard. I’ve always had this intense fear of public speakers. You see, I have a tongue tie and it literally gets me tongue tied when I’m talking and I’ve always been self-conscious of this.
I used to pray before any public speaking event – or school speech I’d given so long ago – and that prayer went like this: God, please don’t let me look stupid. Don’t let me mess up my words or say the wrong thing. Amen.
In all my inner work from the last couple years, learning to trust myself and growing confident in this message I’ve been called to share I’ve learned one very important thing: my message is more important than my image.
My pre-speech prayer has shifted, now it looks like: God, I don’t care how I sound. I simply pray that I say exactly the thing that this one woman needs to hear. I pray that this message comes from you and finds the woman who’s meant to hear it today. Amen.
Motherhood is hard – but it doesn’t have to suck.
Some of the best things in life aren’t easy, right? But they’re still the best, no less. Hard things can still be a lot of fun (yeah, I said it). I’m sick of motherhood feeling heavy because of all the other things that get in our way- the dishes, the laundry, the thousands of toys all over the house. I’m here to make those things easier so we can make some room in our days to have fun!
What is a worst week ever?
This is a week when you do all the things that are harder now, but make things easier later. It’s like paying it forward to yourself, investing your time and energy. When things get kind of busy it gets easy to fall out of habit with the things that help you most to manage the house. For me, this means I’m sleeping in, letting my kids watch tv all day, and letting the house get messy in every corner.
Alone and occasionally these habits aren’t bad. But I know myself, and I hope you know yourself as well. When I’m sleeping in, I’m missing out on a quiet, meaningful morning where I align my intentions for the day, take moments for gratitude and find my inner peace before the chaos of the day begins.
When my kids are watching tv literally all day, it means I’m not spending quality time with them and they aren’t getting their energy out in a purposeful way. This leads to short tempers and bad attitudes – maybe your kids are different, but this is a consistent pattern for us.
Lastly, when the house is cluttered, messy and dirty, it raises my anxieties. Add in the anxiety of a messy house, the short tempers and high energy of the children, and my lack of inner peace from oversleeping and it’s a recipe for disaster.
In the moment, sleeping in is easy. In the moment, turning on the TV is easy. In the moment, walking passed a messy counter top is easy. The worst week ever is about doing what’s hard right now, to make everything easier later.
Early Mornings
The best way to have a good day, is to start with a solid morning that works for you. Letting my kids wake me up and need immediate attention and care is not what works for me. I thrive on a slow morning and I suggest everyone to try this if you haven’t before. I never knew I was a morning person, until I started waking up earlier and intentionally.
Take time to wake up at least a few minutes before the kids. Get your coffee, get some fresh air, enjoy the stillness and the quiet. Grab a journal or notebook and write down some reason you’re grateful. Then plan your day, set some intention for what today should look like.
TV Time Limiting
This can be a challenge at first. Okay, it probably WILL be a challenge. Be understanding that your kids won’t take this change well in the beginning. Have some things ready for them to replace their TV time with – new books, favorite constructive toys, outside adventures, and most importantly quality time with you!
Room Resets
When the house gets into absolute disarray, this is how I tackle the mess: one room at a time. I perform a room reset with 3 sweeps.
- Remove all the trash.
- Remove what belongs in other rooms (or in a donations box, declutter along the way).
- Remove the filth. Clean the room from top to bottom, cobwebs, dusting, windows, surfaces, floors.
Things are hard right now, this week is gonna be difficult, but it’s all for the better. Expect things to not go well when you start new habits and change your way of life, but nothing’s going to change if nothing changes.
Follow my Instagram here – but also since that doesn’t always work, sign up for my emails so you never miss out!
Brittni Clarkson 