Good Things Happen When You Ask Yourself The Right Questions

Good things happen when you ask yourself the right questions - Read all on This Parenting Thing!

A long time ago, I made the decision that I was not on Earth to pass the time. I wanted to do things that I love, flourish in my daily life.

That was before I had children. After I had my first boy, I decided that I was going to stay home!

A few years later, my reality was different; I still wanted to be home with my kids, but I had also managed to turn a hobby into a paid job. I had everything I could dream of but it did not happen overnight.

When I talk with my friends who are making life decisions, I always tell them that they must identify what is important to them in life. They need to ask themselves the right questions. By asking the right questions, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to see my children grow up and that I also wanted to write. The game plan for that: have an understanding and available husband… and be really organized!

In the past two years, I have been there for my kids, but not 100%, not even 50%… At the beginning, I was working all the time (including evenings and weekends). Of course, I was always available to be there for them if they wanted to show me something or if they were upset, but they were spending the days with my husband. I have also always been available for family outings, but I realized I was working too much.

When I was thinking about my life goals, I was not there yet.

I managed to stop working on evenings and weekends last year. I was really happy, but I realized that being in my office from Monday to Friday was still a lot. I managed to cut my Friday afternoons and kept this schedule for several months. Then two weeks ago I questioned myself:

What are my priorities?

Being able to pay the bills and eat, of course! Do I need a big house? To go to the beach? A brand new car? Not really! So, do I need to work 5 days a week to live? No. Can I cut tasks or commitments that are not related to my life goals? Yes! And that’s what I did.

So I am testing my new schedule of… 3 days a week! So far, I told my clients that it was a special schedule, temporary… but my fantasy is to keep it year-round. 3 days of work, 4 days with my children!

When we ask ourselves the right questions, when we know how to identify our priorities, we can make some changes to have happier lives!

 

Marie-Noelle Marineau
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