What is Balance, Really?

Milissa Harding is a Certified Holistic Health Coach. She works with busy moms who require support to prioritize their self-care through improving nutrition, reducing stress, increasing energy and managing sugar cravings. Milissa coaches women individually to help them achieve their health goals. She is also a member of Entrepreneurial Moms of Toronto and she will be our monthly guest blogger on the topic of healthy living for busy moms. 

When you think of “balance”, what generally comes to mind? If you’re like most people, balance conjures thoughts of giving equal attention to every aspect of your life, like the pieces of a pie. This way of thinking leads people (especially busy moms!) to feel quite pressured, as they struggle to give everything a “little bit” of their time. It can be difficult to feel successful when we’re being pulled in so many different directions at once.

As a Health Coach, I teach my clients to view the concept of balance differently. I ask my clients to think about their level of satisfaction in various areas of their lives. When they think about this, they quickly realize that their idea of balance is different than another person’s, and that this is completely okay. What satisfies us as busy moms will look different than what satisfies another person, and we must look inside ourselves to discover a personal balance.

Of course, it’s important to look closely at different aspects of our entire lives and be honest about which of these areas need (and deserve) more of our attention. It’s not necessary to give
equal attention to everything in order to feel balanced. Sometimes, different areas of our lives intertwine (ex-quality time with our children, recreation and creativity), so then it becomes easier to address more than one area at the same time.

So, what’s the first step in identifying which areas you need to focus more on as a mom? I would suggest asking yourself some great questions, such as:

-What do I often struggle with?
-How would I like to feel?
-What might an ideal day in my life look like?

Taking the time to reflect on these questions would be a great place to begin assessing your satisfaction with your life, and begin to identify some areas that immediately stand out as needing more attention.

Our lives as moms aren’t supposed to be perfect, but we do deserve to feel a sense of purpose, meaning and energy in our lives, so giving ourselves the gift of time to reflect on our personal level of satisfaction and balance will reap great results.

If you would like to go a little deeper with this topic and take yourself through a more detailed process to help you experience a more joyful, balanced life as a mom, I would love for you to request my FREE E-book: Feeding the Busy Mom: Nourishing Yourself from the Inside Out. Visit my website at: www.healthystartcoaching.ca for more information.

Milissa Harding is a Member of the Entrepreneurial Moms of Toronto. From time to time Milissa will be running special programs to help you reach your health goals. Please check out her website www.healthystartcoaching.ca for the upcoming Group Coaching Program beginning in March of 2012 which consists of  sugar and coffee cravings, exercise, eating for energy and easy meal planning strategies to name a few. Contact Milissa to schedule your FREE Nutrition Breakthrough Session. 

Women On Top

 In order to prepare for our next Masterminds Event at Entrepreneurial Moms of Toronto, which will take place on January 17, 2011, we decided that it will be good to give you a preview of what our next guest is all about. As one of our members herself, we feel privileged to have her on our team. We sat down with Odette A. Laurie, the founder of Women On Top an agency that empowers women in business with coaching for business. Here is what she had to say:

1. How did you get to become a business coach for women?

I have entrepreneurship in my blood. I have this burning desire to work for myself and create something unique and wonderful, something that being an employee cannot fulfill for me. My first business was hugely successful, reaching multiple six figures in a relatively short amount of time. I was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in my first year of business and that business is still thriving almost 19 years later. I sold my shares to my partner after about 10 years to explore other options. I went back to school as a single mom of 2 very young girls and tried to be an employee but it's like putting a square peg into a round hole. I had a degree and a diploma in the social services and the money is just not there for what I brought to the table. I thought I would try opening up my own practice in counselling but after meeting with a coach to hammer out what it was that I wanted to do with my life and career, counselling was not it! We worked through what my ultimate goal was in life, where I saw myself in my future. From there I discovered that the total sum of all my business experience and success and my life challenges and rewards, all added up to me having to share my story, share my knowledge and work with women to become, to have and to be all that they were meant to be, in life and in business. I know how hard it is to start a business, to create something extraordinary and I had help every step of the way, therefore other women would need the same guidance. Let's face it, I have the tenacity, the determination and persistence to create amazing things in my life and it's hard! It's really hard to stay the course. I want to help women who aren't quite as audacious as I am to get what they want out of life. I have to be a coach, a voice of strength for them. I have the skills and the mindset to lend to them, so they can achieve the same success I have.

2. Women On Top? Where did the name come from?

I was enrolled in a Landmark Education course (which, I strongly believe, everyone should take, it's that valuable) called the Self Expression and Leadership Course. I was working on a project that eventually became Women on Top, but the business didn't exist yet. I was asking the group for a name for the project (a seminar on business start up for women) and no one shouted out anything I liked. Until I sat down at my seat. A lady leaned over and whispered in my ear; “Women On Top”. I said; “pardon?”. She repeated herself and added this; “Women On Top, that should be the name of your business. You are a woman who gets what she wants, stops at nothing to get it, and is determined, motivated and audacious as hell”. I thought to myself; “Wow, she really thinks that about me? That's pretty cool”. I can tell you, it instantly set the tone for my business, for my life.

3. What was the Best/Worst business advice you ever received?

The best advice I have ever received was this; “Take it one step at a time, but take the step, NOW! If all you got is 10 minutes in your day, take the 10 minutes. By the end of the year think where you will be.” And that's what I did. Small, consistent steps got me to where I am today, and I haven't even tapped into my greatness or reached my pinnacle. That is both scary and exhilarating! I have never received bad advice. Why? Because there is always, I repeat, always, a valuable lesson in everything presented to you. It may not mean anything to you at that moment. You just need to look at the source and where they are in their lives and know that they are doing their best with what life has presented to them.

 4. What your advice to busy moms is in regards to managing personal and business life?

You just do what you gotta do to survive sometimes. We make choices based on where we are at that moment and know that it will not last forever. As a woman, mom and coach I would say that we are all 100% responsible for where we are in our lives and that we have the power to choose. Good or bad. Chocolate or vanilla. In or out. Right or wrong. You have the power.

      5. What are Entrepreneurial Moms looking forward to learn from you at our next event?

I'd like this to be an opportunity where we all learn from each other. I wrote “How Big is Your But?” because we women really do spend more time and energy looking back at our reflection in the mirror checking out  our butt, our rear end, than we do looking past our imperfections, to the person we truly are.  Hey I wrote it, and I do it too! In other words, we focus on the negative, our “But”, aka, our excuses, justifications and foolish reasoning for not becoming, doing or having what we really want in life. And we hoard these excuses and justifications until they become our reality. I want to bust this wide open! I also wrote: “Business for Barbies: The Smart Doll's Guide to Attracting Real Clients and Making Real Money”. This is the technical know-how to starting a business or revamping your business by exploring Your Why. Your Why is your driving force behind your ambition and without a crystal clear answer, knowing Who your ideal client is, Where they hang out and How to get to them so you can make money, will be impossible to answer. So, I bring to the table the mindset and the skill set and mush them together to create one big beautiful YOU. 

To find out more about Women On Top and what Odette can do for you, please visit her website at http://businesswomenontop.com because Women On Top is about uncovering possibilities; about realizing your potential and reclaiming your life. Smarter. Faster. Women On Top lives and loves what they do. Do you? 

To hear Odette speak at our event you can register here -->> EntMomsTo