Spinning The Plates Of Motherhood

It is incredible how we’ve morphed into that super I–can–do–it–all woman, constantly feeling the pressure of not doing enough. As women, we have various plates to keep spinning: household, children, work, social life, partner, health…

According to the Wikipedia explanation: Plate spinning is “a circus manipulation art where a person spins plates, bowls and other flat objects on poles, without falling off." But the truth is, we cannot have all the plates spinning at the same time without letting at least one of them fall.

After an injury on my ankle two months ago, when I had to stay almost a month with limited movements, I took a deep dive into myself and my beliefs.  I was bound to the thought that if it “seemed” like I had everything under control and perfectly planned and organised, then I would feel better about myself. But that never worked. It was never enough, and this thought only depleted and drained me. I was making choices based on expectations that lived only in my head.

So, I understood that I had to lower my expectation and accept that I couldn’t keep all the plates spinning at the same time with perfection. As women, sometimes we need to allow some plates to fall and understand that that’s ok.

There will be times in our life when our children will come first (especially when they’re still very little), and maybe you will have to give a step back in your career or your relationship with your partner. At other times, you will be busy growing personally or in your career, and you will need to ask for help or outsource some of the other tasks, and that’s fine too.

It's important to recognise and accept which moment of your life you are in. Accept that while you keep some plates up, others will fall because we are not superwomen, and we are not in the circus when all the plates are always in the air.