Grandmother, Mother, and Daughter, the Generational Shift That Stole Your Girl

TODAY’S FOCUS IS: MANAGE

3 generations of women

When you were in fourth grade, that special year that research shows girls have the most self-confidence, what did you think you would do when you grew up? Come on; think back, do you remember? My daughter Paris is in fifth grade and her thoughts might spark memories. Here are a few of her possibilities; “I want to be a mom, take over mommies companies Get Your Girl Back and Bild & Company, be a school teacher, or maybe a gymnastics teacher…” anything ring a bell? If not, ask your daughter or niece this very important question, “What do you think you will do when you grow up?”

Two Full Time Jobs

I imagine that the answer, “I will work two full time jobs” never got onto that list and the very thought of your daughter or niece doing that terrifies you. Yet the fact is, that is what most women are doing. They start at the crack of dawn, getting kids ready for school, only to head off to a day job that ends at 4 or 5, then head back home for the most important job of all, parenting and wife- the managing of a beautiful family to include cooking, cleaning, tutoring, carpooling, sporting events, laundry, grocery shopping, and more. Normally that job ends around 9 pm when everyone is safely tucked into bed and the last dishes are put away, loose shoes put in the shoe basket, and back packs set by the door. While you may love your life and wouldn’t trade it for anything, the question to ask is “How do you manage it all without losing track of yourself?”

The Generational Divide

Odds are your grandmother didn’t work and if she did boy was she a trailblazer! In most cases, her full time job was the raising of her family and managing of her home. Her daughter, quite possibly your mother, was raised to be like her mom, to be a homemaker. Yet something happened- people started to get divorced and if your mom is anything like mine, these women were unprepared. With little job training or college behind them, they were forced to enter the workforce, work two to three jobs to survive, and in many cases, even marry- not for love but to put a roof over their children’s heads. Life for many of our mothers was not was they expected.

Then there are the women of my generation, those who watched from the side as our mothers struggled to survive, find work, and make a place for themselves in the world.  We became determined- we would not rely on anyone to take care of us, we would work, and provide for ourselves. So off to college we went! Fast forward to today- Women are unprepared- and rightly so! In the span of three generations, women went from one job to two; yet extra hours were not added to the day, we simply have had to learn how to manage it all and the one thing that regularly falls off the list is YOU.

As women who both work at home and outside the home, putting in sixteen hour days, it’s more important than ever to focus on systems that will help you better manage your life.  This is what Get Your Girl Back is all about. Reading these daily blogs will serve as a guide to help you on this wonderful journey called life! My goal today is to help you understand why at times, you might feel like you are going to go crazy and to know that you are not alone. My mom recently got me a sign that reads, “Some call it chaos, we call it family.” I love this sign and so enjoy the chaos- yet in that chaos is order, fun, adventure, and pure bliss. I want to help you learn how to keep all the good, yummy parts of your life and repair those that are broken and not-so good right now. Odds are there is more good than bad so with a little focus you can reignite your passion and create a life by design, not circumstance.

So ponder today’s message, take it in. Then, commit to learn, grow and implement new ideas into your life and if you have a daughter, teach her what you learn so she understands how to keep her girl, front and center- then there will never be a need to get her back!

Written by Traci Bild, Founder of the Get Your Girl Back movement

<a href=”http://www.hypersmash.com”>Hypersmash.com</a>

 

 

 

1 Defining Strategy to Make Room for Exercise in Your Life!

004-workout-fitness-exercise-motivation

The theme this month here at Get Your Girl Back is helping our members understand how this movement came about and how you can use it to reinvent your life. Today, the focus is YOU. I want to help you figure out HOW to take better care of yourself, get healthy, find more energy, and feel empowered in knowing you are taking care of you! If you are already doing this, I ask that you chime in and offer feedback, support, and ideas to our members as we are all working together for transformation (on my blog or FB at Get Your Girl Back movement).

STRATEGY

The main reason I find people don’t work out is lack of time. In a busy world where there is always something to do, it’s virtually impossible to make it onto that very important to do list. Here is my solution: Create a system- Here is one idea that will change your life.

TWEAK YOUR SCHEDULE

While this sounds really simple, and it is, take control and move your schedule around: When I hit 37 I realized that working out 2-3 days a week wasn’t enough to keep the pounds from piling on. My metabolism slowed down and I discovered upon talking with wiser people, that I was going to have to work out at least 4-5 days per week. Do I like it? No! Will I do it to see the payoff? Yes!

After trial and error with nothing working because I was always busy, I moved my schedule around. I had to make my health a priority, no exceptions. While I used to drop the kids off at 8:15 for school and immediate hit the office by 8:30-9, I blocked off the hours from 8:15-9:30 for me. I let my staff know that I would not be taking calls or responding to emails until 9:30 most days. While I thought this would put me behind and create chaos, I didn’t miss a beat. I actually felt energized, healthy, and inspired after working out and still do today. I’ve been doing this for a year and it works. Clearly if you work for someone it will be more of a challenge so here are some more ideas:

  • As your employer if you can come in 1 hour later and skip lunch, eating a fruit shake at your desk instead or packed lunch as you work.
  • Or, carve 30 minutes off your lunch hour and stay 30 minutes later.
  • Come in an hour later and stay an hour later.
  • Allow just 30 minutes for exercise instead of an hour and swap part of your lunch out.
  • Ask to come in 30 minutes to an hour later and take the pay cut in exchange for great health.

Crazy right? You may hate these ideas or love them but they are just that- ideas. I don’t always look good at work, due to working out, but I feel great! You can’t find a solution for your life if you don’t start to strategize ideas. Take one of the above and tweak it to fit you. What matters is that you take the time needed to create solutions to make time for your health. Join our movement at http://gygb.com/join-the-movement/ and reinvent not just your health, but your life!  Written by Traci Bild, Founder.