A New Way for Mothers

All too often, women have to sideline their personal values if they’re to succeed in male-dominated workplaces.

This was certainly true for the author when she worked in public relations. She’d always put kindness, collaboration, and support above competitive practices. But, in that work environment, these values were seen as weaknesses. So, like a good employee, she quietly tucked them out of sight.

But this led to a disconnect between her personal identity and her work identity. Working toward goals she didn’t believe in and acting on values she didn’t agree with, she began to feel like a ventriloquist’s dummy being moved by someone else’s hand.

The key message here is: Motherhood can help you rebuild your career according to your values.

She’d become so brainwashed about the nine-to-five routine that she thought this misalignment was normal. Everyone’s dissatisfied at work, right? 

Then she became a mother, and her outlook changed completely. 

One of the greatest gifts of those first few years of motherhood was the way it thoroughly deprogrammed the old nine-to-five mentality. In fact, those years were so intense that they forced her to cut pretty much every unimportant activity from her life so she could focus all her energy on supporting her child. 

For the first time in her life, the author learned the joy of working in alignment with one’s values. She loved taking care of another life. It just felt right.

A few years later, she decided to step back into the professional world. But, like many women who become mothers, she didn’t want to go back to her old way of life. Motherhood had given her an opportunity to rebuild her career, and she wanted to work toward something she believed in. So she brought her love of mothering to her work.

She launched a website called beyondtheschoolrun, which is dedicated to connecting mothers and supporting their search for fulfilling work. Because she created her business in an area that she cares about deeply, she loves what she does, work flows naturally, and it connects well with her care work. Today, beyondtheschoolrun is a successful business with a thriving online community.

The point is, work isn’t just about paying the bills. If we want to achieve true success and satisfaction in our work, it has to fit with our values. That’s why the first step on your career journey is discovering what really matters to you.