Frazzled, Tired, and Behind? You’re Not Alone
Ask a friend, an acquaintance, or even a stranger how she’s doing, and more than likely, she’ll sigh and say some variation of, “I’m so busy. I can barely breathe most days just trying to survive. You know how that goes” (insert forced smile).
Sadly, yes. Most of us do know the feeling. We are busy juggling a way-too-long to-do list, and we can’t seem to get ahead—or even just get the basics crossed off many days. We wake up every morning feeling frazzled, tired, and behind. We can’t imagine living any other way—though we want to.
I can relate because I’ve been there. A few years ago, I was stressed and exhausted. I had three young children, a husband who had a brand-new business, and a thriving blog of my own that required at least forty hours of work per week to keep afloat. This was more than enough to fill my waking hours each day, but instead of realizing this, I unwisely said yes to numerous other good things until I landed myself into near-breakdown state. It was only then that I woke up to how out of control my life and schedule were.
After months of relearning habits, reworking priorities, and retraining thought patterns, I’ve become a new woman: one who is energized, excited about life, passionate, purposeful, healthy, and rested. This book shares my story of saying goodbye to survival mode. It’s raw, vulnerable, and candid—and not a story I ever thought I’d write a book about. But after years of blogging, writing, and speaking to women, I knew that I wasn’t alone in my struggles.
When I started my blog, MoneySavingMom.com, my desire was to give women practical, hands-on information on ways they could save money. I quickly discovered that many people desperately wanted to change their financial outlooks, but they didn’t have an ounce of time or energy left to devote to their finances with everything else they had on their plates. The majority of women had so much going on in their lives that they felt they were just barely surviving. Take, for instance, this note I received from Darcy:
I’m a brand-new mom of a newborn, and I have my own business. I’m so happy that I found your blog, but I feel like I discovered it at a time in my life when I don’t have a free minute to devote to implementing what you recommend. In addition, I’m a notorious procrastinator and money waster. I sincerely want to change, but being so new to this lifestyle, so set in my bad habits, and so busy, I have no idea how to go about it.
Darcy wasn’t alone in her feelings; I was getting e-mails like this from women in all walks of life—single and married moms, work-outside-the-home moms, and stay-at-home moms. All of them were saying the same thing: “We’re tired. We lack purpose. We want to change our lives, but we have too much to do and not enough time. Help!”
These women wanted to escape the hamster wheel of life that had them spinning to meet other people’s demands and expectations. But they didn’t know how to walk away, how to say no, or how to find breathing room in their lives.
While I was trying to help people with their money and budget problems, I realized I couldn’t address their financial struggles until I first helped these women deal with deeper issues, such as a lack of purpose, a loss of perspective, and a sense of hopelessness.
In 2010, after undergoing my own paradigm shift, I had a heartfelt desire to share my own experiences of how I went from simply trying to keep up with everything—my kids, business, marriage, and friends—to passionately living on purpose. The road hasn’t been easy, and I’ve nowhere near “arrived,” but the efforts and changes have definitely been worth it.
Take a few minutes, and think about your life. Do you feel burned out? Stressed to the max? Stuck?
Do you struggle with having so many things you want to do each day but lacking the motivation to get them done?
Are you having a tough time creating and adapting a routine that works for you and your family?
Do you put unrealistic expectations on yourself to have and do it all—and feel you’re failing miserably?
Do you find it challenging to figure out where your priorities lie?
Again, I can relate, and I wrote this book to share the answers to these questions that I’ve learned and have seen others successfully answer and overcome in their own lives. This book is for you because I know there is a way out. My sincere hope is that by the end of our time together, you’ll either see the light at the end of the tunnel or be out of the tunnel completely!
As you read through each chapter, soak in the life-changing principles, and take the time to do the exercises. You will learn not only why it is so important to live with intention, but I’ll also teach you effective and simple strategies so you can have more purpose in your life on a daily basis.
You’ll find valuable suggestions and ideas on
• how to become more self-disciplined;
• how to set and keep goals;
• how to manage your time, money, and home;
• how to juggle responsibilities and self-care;
• how to experience less stress and more joy;
• how to rediscover your passion and purpose for life; and
• how to keep a balanced life perspective and make a difference in big and small ways.
Not everything in this book will work for everyone. So please don’t feel like you need to heed each suggestion or idea I share. I completely understand there is no one-size-fits-all program that will work for everyone in every stage and season of life. We each have unique personalities, viewpoints, and life circumstances, and we each need to approach things in a way that works best for ourselves and our families. So don’t feel pressure to approach every aspect of your life the same way I approach mine. However, I hope that the principles in this book will inspire you to make some slow and steady changes in your life that will result in a big transformation over time.
I’m here to help you as much as I can. Use what works and save the other ideas for later, or just skip them entirely. My greatest hope for you is that you can escape from feeling stuck and find the freedom and fulfillment that comes from living your life on purpose.
You don’t have to stay perpetually overwhelmed and exhausted, barely existing in survival mode, anymore. You can start living with direction and passion. Today.