The Juggle is Real

It has almost been one full year since I became a mother. This has always been something I dreamed of, bringing life to a little one that resembled not only myself but my loved one! Don't get me wrong, being a mom is one of my favorite hats, but you should also know that I have a Type A personality. When Googling Type A personality here is the description: 

   The hypothesis describes Type A individuals as outgoing, ambitious, rigidly organized, highly status-conscious, sensitive, impatient, anxious, proactive, and concerned with time management. People with Type A personalities are often high-achieving "workaholics". 

Well Google, I think you hit the nail on the head, my personality to a "T" and why I decided to write this blog post. 

Rewind to a year and a half ago.

This was the time in our lives where we decided to move the gym out of the basement of our home to expand it in a commercial space. You could say that even before this move I struggled with balancing my life as a wife, daughter and business owner. I was personally all in for growing the business, I mean I "needed" to show everyone that I could do it.  That I could grow a business from ground zero and make my hypothetical dreams, that many giggled at and simply said "ya ok", come true! Therefore, it was the next step to my dream and getting pregnant was not happening, so we made the plunge.

Now to February 2017.

We found the perfect commercial space for the gym, this was really happening! Yes I knew what it would take and many would describe my habits as being a workaholic during this transition period. Many times, Jake (my husband) would come to the gym after working his 8 to 5 job and would log additional hours at the gym so he could "be" with me while I was awake. Home life at this point was just for grabbing food and sleeping, after all I was logging hours from 5a.m. to 8p.m. three days a week.

March 2017

Did I mention that we stopped trying to have kids during the business transition? Well it happened we are pregnant! This news was always supposed to be positive and we were struggling and we had a miscarriage, why were my feelings so mixed? Not only this, but man no wonder I was always so exhausted, the crazy hours plus my body is trying to make a human! Once again, my personality starts to get the best of me questioning, how will I do this, why now, what does maternity leave look like now?

April 2017 to November 2017 (Easton's due date)

We begin the interview process, add two employees, add a few new services like nutrition and group classes. A time in my life where I struggled. I struggled letting go of the business, training others to help me do what I created from ground zero was not easy. However, it needed to be done, as I was going to posses a new baby, the kind that I had dreamed of for years!

2018

WOW! My priorities have changed. All I wanted to do is stay home and be with that perfect little human, but now I was to juggle being a daughter, sister, wife, mom and business owner. How would I EVER master all hats to my Type A personality perfection? Well I haven't! I have failed time and time again. I have had to say no to many things, many opportunities and even no to a surprise party for my parents. THIS IS TOUGH! I have had learn how to let things go, like having a dirty kitchen or a dirty car and even what my limits are, how little of sleep can I operate on without saying or doing something I shouldn't have? I am also still learning how to do things at 85-95% rather than doing everything at 115%. Unfortunately, the time simply does not exist to give everything 115%.

Lastly, I am still learning how to juggle. The more things I "juggle" the more anxious I become and the less I like myself. Becoming tense, stressed and overworked is nothing that anyone lives for, so for the next six months I am going to work on juggling less hats. I am going to prioritize my hats and spend most time with those at the top of my list! Hopefully this will help me not only manage my personality traits but to also get back to mastering these hats nearing the 100 percentile. How many hats are you juggling?


-Gabby Skinner