Hobbies and Hustles for Moms Who Crave More (E28)

Mom's Guide to Finding Herself
Written By Mom Identity Project

Do you ever feel like you've lost touch with who you were before you became a mom? Do you long for something just for you outside of the never-ending cycle of motherhood? You're so not alone. In this episode of the "Mom's Guide to Finding Herself" podcast, we're exploring how moms can rediscover their passions and find joy in being themselves again. We'll talk about the importance of hobbies and how side hustles can provide a sense of purpose, creativity, and personal fulfillment. This episode is for any mom who feels disconnected from herself, is struggling to find time for her own interests, or is wondering if there's more to life than just motherhood.

The Mom Rut: Feeling Lost and Disconnected (Sound Familiar?):

It's incredibly easy to get swept up in the day-to-day demands of motherhood. Your children's needs almost always come first, leaving little time or energy for your own desires and passions. You might find yourself feeling drained, disconnected from yourself, and even wondering what you even enjoy anymore! You may be spending so much time taking care of others that you completely neglect your own needs. This is a common experience for moms, and it can lead to feelings of burnout and a loss of identity.

Why Do Moms Feel This Way? (It's Not Just You):

The core issue is a lack of balance and the constant challenge of prioritizing personal interests while navigating the all-consuming demands of motherhood. Many moms put their hobbies and side hustles on hold due to time constraints, mom guilt, and the feeling that they simply can't do it all. This can lead to feeling like a background character in your own life. In trying to be everything to everyone, moms often forget to nurture their own needs and passions.

The Pitfalls of Trying to Reconnect (Avoid These!):

When trying to reconnect with yourself, there are some common traps to avoid:

  • Cramming Too Much In (Setting Yourself Up for Failure): Trying to do too much with limited time can lead to frustration and make things feel like even more of a chore.

  • Starting a Side Hustle Without a Plan (Stress City): Jumping into a side hustle without a solid plan can actually increase your stress levels.

  • Looking for a "Perfect" Fix (Perfectionism is the Enemy): Waiting for a big, life-changing idea that will magically fulfill everything may not be realistic (or necessary!).

Start Small: Finding What Lights You Up (Baby Steps Matter):

Instead of trying to make drastic changes overnight, start small. Identify a simple hobby or side hustle that fits into your current schedule and feels even a little bit exciting. It doesn't have to be your destiny; it just has to spark a little interest. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Fitness (Move Your Body, Clear Your Mind): Start with a short walk, try some yoga in your living room, or go for a quick run. This could lead to other interests, like yoga teacher training or starting a fitness blog.

  • Creativity (Unleash Your Inner Artist): Try photography or crafting. Start with beginner kits to ensure success and build confidence. You could start with a small, simple project and then move on to more complex ones. Maybe you'll even start selling your own designs or prints!

  • Flexible Side Hustles (Earn While You Enjoy Some "Me" Time): Consider driving for DoorDash or shopping for Instacart for some much-needed alone time outside the house. You can set your own hours and earn a little extra cash.

  • Writing (Let Your Thoughts Flow): If you love writing, try starting a blog, but don't feel pressured to keep it up if you're not feeling creative. Even just journaling for yourself can be incredibly therapeutic.

Key Strategies to Reconnect with Yourself (These Work!):

Here are some tips to help you reconnect with the things that make you feel alive:

  • Choose Something Interesting (Not Just Another Chore): Pick something that you genuinely enjoy, not something that feels like another obligation.

  • Don't Be Afraid to Stop (Permission to Pivot): If something starts to feel like a chore, stop. There is absolutely no shame in moving on to something else.

  • Be Consistent, Not Perfect (Progress Over Perfection): Set realistic goals, and acknowledge that consistency builds momentum, even if it's just in small doses.

  • Start with Small Actions (Little by Little): Try 10-minute journaling sessions or mini-workouts. Start with something you can actually accomplish and build from there.

Why Does This Matter? (It's More Important Than You Think):

Taking time for yourself to engage in hobbies or side hustles is not selfish; it's essential for restoring your energy, giving you a sense of accomplishment, and promoting personal growth. It helps you rediscover your passions and build a new sense of identity beyond your role as a mom. By doing things that bring you joy, you'll be able to bring a more fulfilled and energized version of yourself to your family. You'll feel like an active participant in your own life, not just a background character.

Low-Pressure and Adaptable Choices (The Key to Sustainability):

Choose hobbies and side hustles that are low pressure and adaptable to your lifestyle. Avoid things that feel like just another stressor! The goal is to build something authentic and rewarding without overwhelming yourself.

What's Next? (Don't Miss It!)

In the next episode, we'll discuss how motherhood forces you to rethink everything and how we can embrace change as an opportunity for growth.

Keywords: Mom Identity, Motherhood Journey, Rediscovering Yourself, Self Care for Moms, Side Hustles for Moms, Mom Support, Balancing Motherhood, Personal Fulfillment, Hobbies for Moms, Mom Business Ideas, Personal Growth, Time Management, Burnout, Loss of Identity, Creativity, Flexibility, Mom Life, Postpartum Hobbies, Work-Life Balance, Mompreneur, Finding Your Passion, Self-Discovery.

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For Your Binging Enjoyment…

28 Audio

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Do you ever feel like there's something more out there for you? Something just for you? Something outside of the endless cycles of mom life? In this episode, we'll explore how moms can pursue passions outside of motherhood while maintaining at least some balance. I'll tell you the importance of hobbies for personal fulfillment and how side hustles can provide a sense of purpose and creativity.

Welcome to Mom's Guide to Finding Herself, where we share stories of side hustles and surviving while parenting young children. I'm your host, Krissy Bold. Let's make motherhood less lonely and help you find joy in being you again.

I know that as a mom it's so easy to get swept up in the day to day. Your children's needs come first. Feeding, playing, cleaning, nurturing, and somewhere between all of that, your personal desires, your passions, and even the [00:01:00] small things that used to light you up can get buried in the hustle. I don't know about you, but I've definitely had moments where I felt like I had completely lost touch with who I was before kids, and I still get caught in this cycle.

Taking care of everyone else's needs and yet feeling completely drained and disconnected from myself. If you've ever found yourself scrolling through social media looking at somebody else's latest adventure or project and thought, I wish I could do that. Then you're definitely not alone because I've been there.

In fact, it wasn't until I started recognizing that I needed more than just motherhood to feel fulfilled that things started to shift for me. I realized I needed to start making space for something outside of my kids and the endless tasks of keeping my house running. At first, it felt selfish, right?

Like, I didn't deserve that time for myself, and like, I was a burden on other people for taking up some of the weight that I was picking up, right? But I quickly learned [00:02:00] that it's not actually selfish. It's necessary.

Now, I know what you must be thinking, right? Because I, I did too, right? Okay, Krissy, this sounds great, but I don't have time for things that don't involve my kids or my house right now. And I get it. Trust me. But what I've learned along the way is that carving out a little time for yourself, even just a few minutes can make a huge difference.

And the key is finding hobbies and side hustles that fit into your life. right now. Not something you need hours to commit to, but something you can actually enhance your life with without adding more pressure. In this episode, I'm going to talk about how we can find those hobbies or side hustles that not only bring us joy, but also remind us of who we are beyond the role of mom.

Right, whether it's starting a small side hustle, learning something new, or just finding a little pocket of time each day, or something that you love, right, there are so many ways to reconnect with the parts of yourself [00:03:00] that might have gotten lost along the way.

So, if you've ever felt like something was missing, or that you're just stuck in the mom rut. I want you to know that there is a way out.

Okay, so right now you're lost in motherhood, right? What's actually going on? So many moms feel disconnected from themselves and their passions after having kids. They might be experiencing a lack of fulfillment or struggling to find time of their own interests.

Maybe you're feeling like you've lost touch with what you enjoy. You don't even know what you like anymore. And you're wondering if there's more to life than motherhood anymore. And you want to feel like yourself again.

You want to feel like you again. You want to feel like a person again. You might be spending so much of your time taking care of others that you're neglecting your own needs. Sure, you might be meeting your most basic needs, but you're not meeting the needs that go beyond that. Now, why do so many moms feel this way, right?

This is so common. What is going on here? Now, the main issue is the lack of balance [00:04:00] and the challenge of prioritizing personal interests. While navigating the demands of motherhood, literally, like that is so challenging. That is the exact issue that's going on. So many moms give up on their hobbies or put aside the idea of a side hustle and put it on hold because of time constraints or guilt.

Thinking, there's no way I can possibly do both. And this leads to burnout. It leads to a loss of identity. It leads to feeling like a background character in your own life, your depersonalization. And the core problem is that in trying to be everything for everyone, you forget about nurturing your own needs and passions.

Yikes, right? And we know that. This isn't news. I'm not telling you something you don't know. But how do we get out of it? Because what we're doing isn't working, right? There are so many pitfalls that we can fall into. Sometimes we try to cram hobbies into the limited time we have, and that's just frustrating.

It can feel like a chore. When you can't stick to [00:05:00] a consistent routine, you then lead yourself to failure. You feel like you've tried something and now you're failing at it, and that's not gonna help you in this purpose. Or sometimes you start a side hustle without a clear plan.

Or a way to balance into your family life. And that causes even more stress. Like, you need any more of that, right? Or you're trying to find a quick fix. Something that is perfect. You're looking for this big idea. Like, what is this perfect fit that's going to fulfill everything and feel great? Maybe you have this big dream, and you're just waiting to figure out what that big dream is.

Maybe you're reading stories of how people became successful, or watching them being successful, and thinking, oh, I just wish I could do that, instead of looking at the breadcrumbs and all of the little things that are in front of you.

Because maybe those big things don't align with you, your values, your lifestyle. It just isn't right, even though it might seem right on the surface. So what do we do instead, right? We need to start by starting small. identifying something [00:06:00] simple, a simple hobby, a simple side hustle that fits into your current schedule right now and feels exciting enough, right?

It doesn't have to be something that you're like, this is it. This is what I've been destined for. Just something that like, sparks a little interest in you. Is enough for right now because that can lead you to new things. So if you love fitness, start with working out. Or maybe you don't love fitness, but it's something that you're interested in.

Just start small. Go for a walk. Do yoga in your bedroom in the morning. Go for a run. And that can lead to all kinds of things. Now, if you're not just looking for a hobby, but fitness is something that is interesting to you. You could start taking some yoga teacher training classes, right?

You could start doing some personal training classes online. You could start a fitness blog or a social media account and share workout tips with other moms. Or you can try to start a walking club, whether it's virtual or in person. Get people who are interested in walking [00:07:00] the same amount of distance or time as you on a weekly basis and send pictures to each other that you took on your walk.

Things like that. There's ways that you can start with a small interest. Now, fitness might not be your thing, but maybe you are a creative person and you want to try something like photography or crafting, right? Where you can start just by doing it yourself. Go to your local craft store and pick up a little.

Do it yourself kit with some really simple instructions. Something that's really basic and beginner that's gonna set you up for success. If you were a knitter or crocheter before, don't start with like a blanket, right? Because if you don't end up finishing that, you're gonna feel like, see Krissy, I told you, this is why I just don't even bother.

Start with like that little small duck or something and that's already in that pre packaged kit with everything that you need. And that way you can start it and finish it hopefully within a reasonable amount of time and then you can feel that success and be like, okay, I'm ready. Yeah, this is working. I like this.

And you can keep going from there. And, you know, maybe someday this becomes a side hustle where you're selling your own [00:08:00] designs or maybe you start painting and you're selling your prints, right? Think about those kinds of things. Where, where is creativity for you?

But maybe. You don't want just something that you can do when you're locked away in your bedroom or with your kids around. Maybe you need some time to you and to get out of the house. So you could do something flexible like doing DoorDash or Instacart. I did DoorDashing when my oldest was a baby and he napped in the car.

I would hop on to DoorDash when I had like an hour where I knew he was going to be sleeping and I had to just drive around. And I would go to drive thrus, like Dunkin Donuts and McDonald's, and I would pick up their orders through the drive thru. Now, sometimes they didn't allow that, but I would just say to them, Listen, my baby's sleeping in the car, can you help me out?

And they would, of course they would, because we all get it. We've all either been there or can relate to somebody who has been. And I would just drop the things off at the doorstep. Now, I didn't pick up orders for apartment buildings because I didn't want to get out of the car and go into and find an apartment.

Like, that wasn't possible with my baby [00:09:00] sleeping. But I could get out and just leave something on a doorstep. So I did that while my baby was sleeping, but you could do like Instacart or DoorDash if you just want some alone time to get out of the house. Right? Maybe you really like shopping, but you don't want to start a shopping habit because let's not get you in debt here.

Let's get you doing something that's going to be fulfilling without costing you an arm and a leg. So shop for somebody else. You can do target ship shopping, you can do join shipped and do that. It's flexible. You sign on when you can, it gives you time to clear your head and earn a little extra money and you don't have to have the decision making of shopping because you're doing somebody else's shopping, right?

So these are different things that you could try without any risk, right? You can just give it a shot, see if it feels good. And if it doesn't never do it again, who cares? But you need to focus on what's going to light you up. Choose something that feels interesting. That's like, okay, I can do that.

Something that's a little exciting rather than trying to force yourself into something that's going to feel [00:10:00] like another chore. And if it starts to feel like a chore, just stop. Right? There's no shame in that. Just move on. The goal is to reconnect with the things that make you feel alive. And we're not going to do that with choosing things or sticking with things that just feel like another thing on the list and that don't feel like you.

For example, if you've always loved writing and you decide you want to start a blog, You could do that in home and short bursts, but if you start doing that and you're like, I have nothing to write about, this is just a drain on my creativity, then you can stop and pick it up when you do have creative habits.

You're not signing on for this long term commitment. You're signing on for something that helps you reconnect with you. So pick it up, put it down, whatever makes sense for you. But you do want to try to be consistent. Now, not perfect, Consistency. Don't expect to be doing everything all at once. Set some realistic goals and acknowledge that consistency, even in small doses, is going to build momentum.

There's very few things that are these [00:11:00] linear uphill progress scales, right? Most things in life have ups and downs, and that can happen in your motivation to do these things too.

So maybe you do start that blog and you hit a peak where you're not at all interested in this. Just push yourself to sit down and write something. If it really, really, really doesn't feel good, stop. But try to aim for that consistency to see if you can push through these.

setbacks and get to something that is meaningful. So you could start with a 10 minute journaling session. Just tell yourself you need to sit down and type for 10 minutes and maybe by the end of the 10 you did come up with something and now you don't want to stop because you're so inspired. Or maybe you're doing 30 minute workouts just like twice a week or 10 minute workouts.

Like literally let's start with 10 minutes at a time. Let's start with something that you think you can actually accomplish. The key is to begin. And keep doing it, even if it's just a little bit, before you make a decision if this is for you or not. [00:12:00] Now, why does this matter? Why do I have to push myself to do these things that aren't fitting into my life anyway?

Well, if you're listening to this, chances are you want to reclaim part of yourself again. And taking that time for yourself to engage in hobbies or engage in a side hustle isn't selfish. It's restoring your energy and giving you a sense of accomplishment and personal growth. Doing something for you outside of motherhood helps you rediscover your passions and build a new sense of identity beyond your role as a mom.

So if you're sitting there thinking, I don't know who I am anymore, I don't even know what I like, you have to start somewhere. You have to start trying things to find what you like.

So whether it's a small creative hobby, or a fitness journey, or having a side hustle, whatever it is, it's something that's going to bring you joy, and allow you to feel more complete. And then you'll be able to bring that more fulfilled version of you to your [00:13:00] family. And you'll be a much more well rounded version of yourself that feels like a person, like an active member of your family, like an active member of your own life that's contributing.

So focus on hobbies and side hustles that are low pressure and adaptable to your lifestyle, right? You don't want to pick something that is not for you. rigid that's on this timeline. Like, sure, whatever you pick, there's probably going to be deadlines in there.

There's probably going to be some time constraints, but you don't want to pick something that is just another stressor. Some stress. Okay, we can allow that. Some stress is healthy and pushes us to our boundaries, but you don't want to go beyond your boundaries. That is not the purpose of what we're talking about here.

You can start building something that feels authentic and rewarding without overwhelming yourself. In the next episode, we'll discuss how motherhood forces you to rethink everything, even the things that you thought you knew for sure, and how we can embrace the fact that this change is not only okay, it's a sign [00:14:00] of growth and new opportunities. Until then, take a moment for yourself and remember you are an amazing mom, just as you are. I would love to hear how this episode has helped you. Scroll down to the comments or reviews and leave me a note there. This will make a big impact in helping moms like us find the show. Make sure to click those five stars and follow so you can join me on this journey of finding ourselves.

Mom Identity Project https://momidentityproject.com
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