Torn Between Family and Work

Most parents find that when things are going well, everyone is in good health and work goals are progressing, there’s a juggle between work and family, but it all works out most days.

It’s when there’s a spanner in the works, a child gets sick or your health gets challenged whilst there’s pressing deadlines at work, that’s when the real test begins. Your patience, your resilience and your achievement focus get tested.

Now if you’re a high achiever and if you are reading this then you probably are, you still want to be hitting your deadlines, attending meetings and keeping your finger on the pulse. The idea of a child’s sickness pausing your work progress for the fourth day in a row can be a real challenge. Not because you don’t love your child but because you also love your work.

Then there’s the practicalities of looking after a sick child. Booking appointments, trips to the doctor (or worse the hospital), filling prescriptions then remembering to actually give the medicine to your child three times a day, in between phonecalls, meetings and developing your ideas.

You lose sleep at night attending to your child, then attempt to function during the day. After a few days of this, your once bubbly, caring personality wears thin and you become something that resembles Bon Jovi being shot through the heart. You find yourself giving love a bad name. Did you really choose to sign up for this?

Tired, weary and somehow still going, you hear the words, “thank you for looking after me”, your heart swells and you suddenly remember why you signed up.

Find Your Why ~ Simon Sinek

In the words of Simon Sinek, find your why. Managing work and family pulls you in directions you could never have anticipated prior to having children and if you can remember at the centre of it all why you are doing what you are doing, you’ll do more than just pull yourself through, you’ll be happy and empowered doing it.