I’m The Motivated Mom, I’m Not Perfect

I recently hosted the Motivated Mom Tour in Atlanta.  The Motivated Mom Tour is a half day intensive experience designed to equip an intimate group of 125 moms to be “Great Women and Extraordinary Moms” by offering life-changing content to help activate their dreams. 

 

The event powered by Prudential, Coca-Cola, Hilton, BETher, Cantu, Real Beauty Real Women, and Black Enterprise is for the entrepreneur mom, working mom, stay-at-home mom, or aspiring mom representing different socio-economic backgrounds, education, and cultures gather together to participate in empowering discussions around finance and wealth building, entrepreneurship, goal planning, and parent engagement.   We bring out some exceptional speakers and influencers like Tiffany “The Budgetnista” Aliche, Dania Santana, Nicci Gilbert Daniels, and Michele Thornton Ghee to name a few.      

 

During the Atlanta event, I felt off.  I couldn’t gather my thoughts, I stumbled a lot, and had a hard time being in the moment.  By the time we made it to the Empowerment Panel Luncheon, I struggled to get my thoughts out.  I even had trouble reading the notes I typed for myself (which I never use by the way).  I managed to make a few announcements and introduce the panelists.  I began with the first question and by the time the second panelist began to answer, I fell over on Dania, she was closest to me.  I could not believe what just happened, but I felt horrible.  I stood up, walked off stage, asked for someone to take over and left the room.  As soon as I went out of the door, I began falling forward toward the ground.  Not only could I not moderate my panel, but I was not able to return to the event.  I was so scared because I did not feel that I had control of my body.  I could not walk on my own, I was shaking like a leaf, and my friends were looking at me with a great deal of concern.

 

While I was being escorted to my room by Yvonne, all I could think and say was how embarrassing.  I asked Yvonne “what is happening?’  She responded with “I’m not sure, it sounds like vertigo, but you have nothing to be embarrassed about.”  The guilt was overwhelming, so much so that I believe I was putting even more pressure on myself.  Once I made it to my room, I immediately feel into a deep sleep.  I was given an antihistamine since Yvonne and one of the attendees who happened to be in the hallway and overheard the conversation thought it was Vertigo.  When I awoke, I began reflecting on when I began feeling ill.

 

I initially thought about how I feel when flying.  I get sick to my stomach and feel like passing out during landing.  This had been happening for about a month or so.  I had experienced hot flashes, nausea, and headaches.  And it happened on Thursday when I flew into Atlanta for the Tour.  So, I thought it was a carryover from the flight.  Shortly after the medic arrived in my room and confirmed that he too thought it was vertigo.  I rested and prepared myself to fly home the next day. 

 

Laying in that hotel room I grew very upset with myself.  How dare I blame myself for being sick? And then it hit me…. When one of my sponsors brought me to the room she said, “La’Toyia why are you embarrassed? You’re the Motivated Mom, you’re not perfect.”  Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever felt guilty about something that made you human?

Several people reached out asking if I was feeling better. Telling me how they were praying for me and how they enjoyed the event. I have to admit, it gave me a great deal of relief to know that everyone had a great time – in spite of me of being sick and things going off script due to my absence.

The messages from attendees also triggered me to deal with the guilt that I placed on myself.  The truth is, I was not taking good care of myself. I was so busy being the motivated mom that I forgot to consider LaToyia.  As I thought my about it, I began to cry and made these personal self-care vows to myself.  I vow to:

 

• Take Care of LaToyia: I will mediate daily on God’s word and pray, aligning myself with God’s perfect will and receiving His grace, mercy and direction for a fulfilled life.
• Make Healthier Choices: I will not make decisions out of convenience, rather I will make better choices about the food I eat – more fresh fruits and veggies, less sugars and processed foods.
• Say Yes Less: I am giving myself permission to focus on what’s really important.  I am eliminating things that are not critical to my life and the life of my family.

 

These three vows are essential to me.  This incident was just another reminder that I need to be more intentional about taking care of myself.  Over the last year, I’ve had a series of illnesses, meltdowns, and mini-emergencies that I truly believe could have been avoided had I been more intentional about my own self-care.

Being the Motivated Mom is my choice! Taking care of myself is my RESPONSIBILITY! These are tools for me to ensure that as the Motivated Mom – I LIVE a life of purpose, in abundance, and financially free.  I am determined to practice these vows regularly.

How are you taking care of yourself? Do you need to start? I’m here with you for the journey, as moms we can do it together.

 

[latoyia]