BALANCING FAMILY AND CAREER
When I started my career after graduate school, I was married for four years before I had children. Fortunately, when my first child was born, I was working with a company that was very supportive of motherhood. I changed employers just before the birth of my second child and, luckily, was again blessed to have an employer who valued motherhood. When my children were two and four, I started my own business. I then had control of my own destiny, or did I?
As an entrepreneur, you are faced with the same decisions about balancing family and career that you face as an employee. One difference is you no longer have to get the concurrence of your employer when business matters conflict with family. At times, however, there will be conflicts between what’s best for the family and what’s best for the business. To keep things in balance, I adopted some key principles that helped me set priorities and stay focused. Some of these include:
*Accept the fact that you can’t have it all. Life is about making choices and setting priorities. Reflect on your values and clearly define what is important to you.
*Don’t be reluctant to ask for help. Many people are willing to help but may not offer for fear of feeling they are intruding or they may not know how they can help. Only you know what is helpful to you. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness.
*Learn to say no. Busy people are the ones who are usually asked to do things. Sometimes out of a sense of obligation, we commit to things we know we should not.
*Take time for you , in order to reenergize; if you are unhappy or in a bad mood, your family knows it.
*Make sure you take care of your health, not putting off those necessary exams or tests simply because you are too busy.
*Most important, don’t feel guilty about whatever decision you make about how you will combine family and Career. Outsiders don’t know the full story.
Enjoy your family and your career!
