10 Habits Of A Happy Mom

This is truly an amazing article by author, Samantha Walravens, posted on ModernMom.com. Every Mom should read and follow these tips she provided – They really can make a difference in how we approach the challenges of motherhood everyday. here's a quick snippet of her list:

1. Find your own balance. 

There IS no perfect balance when it comes to motherhood, career and marriage. It’s up to you to prioritize, make adjustments and decide what you are and are not prepared to do. Don’t tell yourself “I should be able to,” or “She/he can do it, so I ought to be able to.” Most importantly, don’t listen to anyone else telling you what you should or should not be able to do! Pay attention to your own needs and well-being. If you feel you’re out of balance day in, day out, then you are! It’s time to look at what’s going on and reevaluate. Be
willing to re-negotiate your work duties, as well as your parenting duties. They WILL change over time.

2. Choose “good enough” over “perfect.” 

All the pressure that women today put on themselves today to be the perfect mother, the perfect worker, and the perfect wife (with the perfect physique!), takes the joy out of motherhood and saps us of energy. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just give ourselves – and others – a break? When something needs to be done, ask yourself: is it important that the job is
just done, or done perfectly? Nine out of 10 times, the answer will be “just done.” For example, Ginnie has always done the family laundry, and she’s developed a system that works. However, now she’s working full-time, she just can’t handle that task in addition to everything else. She ignored her husband’s offers of help because she didn’t trust him to do it properly. Finally, after it had become a huge issue, she let it go. Her husband now shares the task with her. He doesn’t do it her way, and she can still get irritated by the way he flings mangled baby t-shirts with their sleeves still inside out on the radiators, but she is learning to turn a blind eye.

3. Don’t be a martyr.

“I’ve got so much to do.” “I’ve got to do everything round here.” Do these sentences ring a bell? Do you feel put upon and resentful while at the same time hogging
all the work? If so, martyrdom could become an addiction for you, pushing you to take on more, draining you physically and emotionally and raising your stress levels. And here’s the interesting part – it’s your ego talking. The motivation for martyrdom, and the big payoff, is that it makes you feel important. You think it makes you look busy and important. It doesn’t. It’s annoying and infuriating for people around you and it makes you look like…a martyr! Solution? Ask for help and let other people take the weight off your shoulders. And learn to say NO firmly and often.

4. Draw a line between home and work. 

This is easier said than done in today’s world, when we carry our work around with us on our Blackberries, iPhones and other portable devices. It’s hard to unplug and
“turn off” your work duties you get home (or worse, if you work from home), just as it’s hard to “turn off” worries about kids and home life when you are at work. Try this trick. “Download” the things that are on your mind before you leave work (or home). Write your “To Do”list on a piece of paper, or type it into your computer or Blackberry, so you remember the things you need to do when you get back. Keep your mind focused on the fact that this is the end of that activity, workday or tasks at home. Then put away your “To Do” list and LEAVE IT until the next day.

Click the link below to see the rest of these amazing tips:

10 Habits Of A Happy Mom