The #1 Reason Most of Us Can Feel Unfulfilled and Why I Chose My Word for This Year

My word for 2019 is NURTURE.

In 2017, I SIMPLIFY (ied)

In 2018, I FOCUS (ed)

This year, I will NURTURE...

nur·ture

/ˈnərCHər/

verb

care for and encourage the growth or development of someone or something.

2017 was all about SIMPLIFYING.  It was a pivotal year for me, even more so than the year I decided to take the leap and quit my comfortable, work-from-home six figure corporate career to launch my own business. However, as I shared in my last blog post (click here to catch up here if you missed it), after the surprise arrival of my 4^th child, I reached a point in my business where I was exhausted and overwhelmed, stretched too thin and quickly heading toward burnout!  

That’s when I embraced the whole concept of SIMPLICITY. I had read Marie Kondo's 'The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up' the year prior and was hooked! (Everyone on my Christmas list got gifted that book that year! :)). Marie’s book inspired me and started me on the journey to declutter, prune, get rid of stuff and more… so that only what sparked joy – and mattered most - remained. We set out to simplify our home, finances and lifestyle, even selling our house and relocating in the process. I began to apply the same concept to my business and figured out how to structure it to fit into the life I desired.

Next, in 2018, I chose FOCUS as my word. 

Overall, simplifying the year prior enabled me to then focus on some important priorities, a big one being investing in and finally launching my Coaching business, something I had been doing informally over the years and had wanted to formalize. All in all, 2018 was a productive year and laid the foundation for the upcoming years. 

As I began to consider my word for 2019, I didn't have to think too hard...One word kept coming to me over and over again and that word was: NURTURE 

But for some reason I kept second guessing it because it seemed too obvious and quite frankly superfluous. As a mother, wife, daughter, woman, I thought: isn’t that what I’m doing already??  Don’t I nurture EVERY. SINGLE. DAY?! Surely, that was self-evident?

It wasn’t until Glenn Close happened to mention the word in her Golden Globes winning speech this past Sunday that it clicked for me. (You should look up a clip of her speech online if you haven’t seen it yet! Brilliant!). She mentioned that “women are natural nurturers...” And while I absolutely loved her overall message around making sure we get to pursue personal fulfillment outside of that as well (YES GIRL!!!), what stuck with me most was her statement about women being 'natural nurturers'... 

For all my fellow Oprah fans, that’s when I had an A-ha Moment!

That was it! That’s why I was having conflicting thoughts about choosing the word NURTURE! In my mind, I was already doing that because us women are just naturally inclined and expected and assumed to be that, but when I thought about it, was I REALLY??

Was I actually nurturing in my day-to-day?

You see, the thing is that while it is true that us moms (and women in general) are natural nurturers, in this day and age, it has become that much more challenging for us to truly nurture like we desire in our everyday lives. 

The constant busyness, the never-ending to-do list, the pressures, the activities and so on and so forth… has left most of us RUSHING through our days, constantly on the go and always on the run without a moment to stop, catch our breath and truly be present with and care for our loved ones.  Not to mention with ourselves and even our work, dreams and goals! There is just always a ton to do, and especially as we climb the corporate ladder or run our own businesses, it is easy to fall into survival mode and find ourselves for the most part pretty much just scraping by doing the bare minimum needed to survive and keep up.

And THAT is what can keep most of us feeling less than fulfilled – the fact that we lose the ability to nurture or at least nurture fully on our own terms.

It is a bitter truth that generally us as women grapple with.

Because, the truth is, at least for me and I am guessing you as well, despite any big accomplishments, it is hard for us to feel completely satisfied and fulfilled if any one of the many areas of our lives (especially family and home) are not getting the proper care and nurturing they deserve. (And btw why many women end up making the decision to choose one or the other).

It is so hard.  I get it. I have been there. 

However, I truly believe that as moms, we can do meaningful work that fulfills us and provides a great income AND still have the time to lovingly nurture and tend to our family and home.

This is why I am choosing NURTURE my word for 2019.  To take it from ‘obvious’ and ‘assumed’ TO intentional and ACTUALLY living/practicing it.

Luckily, the past couple of years of SIMPLIFYING and FOCUSING has laid the perfect foundation for me and set me up well to focus on NURTURE even more and better this year.

So, what will that look like? 

Well, I will be more intentional about tending to not only my family and home but also to myself.  Because the #truth is when real life is in full swing and you are hit with all of the ongoing competing demands, the person that ends up at the bottom of the list is usually us. I want to continue to lovingly take care of my home, my kids and my marriage, but because as we know when mama’s not well, no one else is, I also want to be even more intentional about nurturing myself. 

Below is the list of the following areas I have chosen to really pay attention to and NURTURE (and yes, for once, I put myself at the top of the list! THAT in of itself is a good start! :) ): 

My body

My soul

My mind

My sanity and peace

My marriage

My kids

My home

My community

My relationships

My business (and the community of moms within it)

I will share more thoughts and exactly what I plan to do in each of these areas in future blog posts, but for now, I hope this inspires you and gives you some ideas of areas where you may want to focus on and nurture as well.  Let me know what you plan on nurturing!

The ONE area I will share a little more about in today’s blog post is in the nurturing my business – and the community I create within.  This was last on the list, but certainly not the least!

I am launching a brand-NEW Coaching program to teach and help other mompreneurs implement the right systems, structures and strategies needed in their business and at home in order to increase their business profitability without sacrificing the ability to NURTURE the rest of their lives.  So, they can be truly satisfied, fulfilled and truly enjoy their WHOLE lives.

This course is the culmination of so much in my life – and I can honestly say that every single thing I have experienced in my personal and business life has led me here!  And so, as I lovingly create it, I am pouring my whole heart into it and looking forward to nurturing it and the people (and community I build within it) that join me in it.

Because let's be real, running a business is FREAKING HARD!!!

We tend to glamorize business ownership - and listen, while it is absolutely AMAZING, and I will never regret launching and can never go back to a corporate job - this running a business thing while taking care of a home and family is really hard! And we need to talk about that side more! And support each other as mompreneurs even more!!

Well, this course I am launching is what I needed (and much needed).  As they say, you teach what you most needed to learn!

This course will not only get you implementing these systems for success in the immediate future but will set you up for long term/lasting and sustainable success in both your business and at home. And give you the profitable business and joy-filled homes you desire.

If this is something you would be interested in, please click on the link below to learn more and join the Waitlist now, so that you are one of the first to hear about it as soon as it launches later this month! 

http://bit.ly/WAITLIST_SystemizeForSuccess

I will only have a few spots open for this first round and I will be offering a steep Early Bird enrollment discount, so if this peaks your interest at all, please make sure to get on the Waitlist so you can snag one of the few spots as soon as enrollment opens!

Learn more and sign up for the Waitlist here: http://bit.ly/WAITLIST_SystemizeForSuccess

As I have mentioned, NURTURE is my word for this year and it is a huge intention of mine to really NURTURE this program and the mompreneurs that join me on this journey.  I will properly take care of you in this course and build a community where you feel truly supported as you set yourself up to be able to nurture your own business, life and whatever it is that matter most to you.

I look forward to hearing from you and connecting with you in this course community launching soon.

Here’s to a year of NURTURING ourselves and the people and things that matter most to us! 

Efe xo

Learn more here: http://bit.ly/WAITLIST_SystemizeForSuccess