Mindset Tips for Thriving
The other day my daughter said she thought it was nice I could be at her school events since I was retired. I nearly choked–retired! In all fairness, society doesn’t have a job description for an entrepreneur wife. I’m not a full-time working mom and I’m not a stay-at-home mom. Where do I fit?
I’ve been an entrepreneur wife for more than a decade and I can tell you no two days are alike. So how do you maintain a strong identity and purpose in this role?
Since our schedules and income are often unpredictable, finding balance and purpose as an entrepreneur wife can be challenging, to say the least. The trick is to shift your mindset from surviving to thriving.
Tips for Thriving as an Entrepreneur Wife
Are you in constant survival-mode? Maybe it’s time to focus on the thoughts and attitudes that will help you thrive.
It starts with adjusting your expectations
When I decided to shift my mindset from surviving to thriving, one of the areas I knew I needed to work on was my flexibility. This life is unpredictable at best, and for a girl like me who likes structure and schedules, being flexible was a big challenge. Learning flexibility meant I had to let go of the expectation of eating dinner together as a family at 5pm everyday. I had to accept there would be no steady schedule, and so in our home, we aim to have three dinners together as a family during the weeknights. However, these vary depending on my husband’s schedule and travelling. I’ve learned not to compare. Coming from a childhood where my parents almost never missed a dinner, I know that it’s about quality time, not quantity. And those days when my husband can’t make it, we keep dinner kid-friendly, simple and healthy so that we are all set up for success.
Learning to adapt means dropping the comparisons and finding what works for your family to bring it to a place of enjoyment. Maybe it means an evening at a fast food place where dinner and play can happen without having to clean up a pile of dishes all while getting you all out of the house—no judgment. Days with toddlers can be long and this type of evening saved my sanity on several occasions. It was this kind of mindset that set me on the path to thriving in our difficult-to-plan-and-schedule life.
View your role as an entrepreneur wife as a calling and a privilege
Even though there’s no job description for the wife of an entrepreneur, it’s a critical role. I believe we all have unique talents, many of which I know help your entrepreneur and business succeed. I’m a hidden nerd at heart and have used my nerdy math brain to help with the financial needs of our business on many occasions. The unique talents and gifts that come out of my abilities as a wife, mother, teacher and friend have helped my husband succeed as much as they’ve helped me thrive. We have this wonderful opportunity in our role to use our unique gifts to make a positive impact on our families, business and community–whatever that looks like. Isn’t that what we all want and are really called to at the end of the day?
I’ve learned this entrepreneur life is so much greater when I focus on thriving in my role and not just surviving. I don’t want my family to repeat the mistakes of other entrepreneur families, the ones who found career success by prioritizing their business at the cost of their family, marriage, health and/or faith.
In every situation I have the choice in how I respond to my circumstances and you do too, so the next time you face a challenging situation ask yourself, “Will responding in this way cause me to thrive or simply survive?”