Happy New Year Moms!

I thought long and hard about what to post today as a precursor for my 2018 “Momfessions”. You know everywhere you turn there are tons of “new year” themes oozing from literally everywhere but I am quite frankly tired of new year resolutions, mantras and clinches.

Yet here I am about to give you MINE! HAHAHA

So of course, like many women, I have pounds to shed, hair that needs to be colored, books that I need to write and healthier snacks to buy. Lol… so I took a moment to reflect on what makes the differences between my accomplished and unaccomplished goals.

Distractions- that is the difference between the goals that I want to accomplish and those that I have accomplished by the end of this year. Distractions for me are those things that I let consume my time and I allow myself to waste time on. Distractions are like your favorite chip, the ones you just cannot have the “serving size” amount of no matter how many times you tell yourself you are only going to eat the “serving size”.

Because the new year brings about reflective hearts and high hopes, I decided to remind myself of one of my favorite scenes for a classic movie re-make, The Karate Kid, so in the 2009 remake while Mr. Miyagi is training young Jaden Smith he tells him “Your focus needs more focus”. That line in that movie has always stuck out to me and before I started this new year, I decided, that needed to be my “slogan” for the year. I needed to starve my distractions and feed my focus.

So many times, we lose sight of how to accentuate our strengths because we are so focused on how dreadful our weaknesses are. Well not this year, I hope that you take a moment for you, when the kids go to bed, to reflect on what you want to accomplish, focus on your strengths- look at your weaknesses and be willing to put in the work to get better at them.

No matter what it is, time management, home schedules, weight loss etc. For me, it’s my yelling. I am going to start there. I must admit I can be a “Jurassic Mom” at home. A super “indominus rex” if you let my kids tell it. I have lost sight sometimes that they are only kids, 8,3, and soon to be 2. Sometimes I place unrealistic expectations on them because I want them to use their manners, not fight each other and cut the lights off when they walk out of a room. Crazy to some I know, legitimate to others I know. But in the new year, I need to starve the distractions from the things that are making me feel like I have to perfect everything in a day and realize that my focus should be on how I distribute my love and how I get the most out of the memories we are making. I cannot get this time back and each minute I spend trying to create perfection is a moment I lost accomplishing a goal of building healthy children who understand balance.

So, I want to encourage you guys to starve those distractions and feed your focus. Understanding yourself as a mom and a woman will only help you be the best for your kids. They are gifts to us, let’s not waste this time being distracted. May your new year bring, focused-focus and be void of distractions.

Shaheedrah Strong