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HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS AS A WORKING MOM?

 Modern Mommy Doc


PUBLICATION DATE:

May 10, 2021

HOW DO YOU MEASURE SUCCESS AS A WORKING MOM?

 Modern Mommy Doc

CATEGORY: WORKING MAMA

If you saw a book or an article promising you “5 steps to fast success as a working mom,” would you pick it up, would you click on it to read it? There’s no right or wrong answer here, but if most of us are being honest with ourselves, we’d probably dive deep into that content promising that instant gratification we crave daily. At Modern Mommy Doc, we’re not about those kinds of mommy manuals, which is why Dr. Whitney’s new book coming out tomorrow takes an entirely different trajectory. 


The Working Mom Blueprint: Winning at Parenting Without Losing Yourself doesn’t subscribe to the idea that “doing it all” is really possible, nor should it be the goal that working moms strive for. But rather, The Working Mom Blueprint offers practical help for simplifying life as we know it and creating a foundation that allows us to succeed. As Dr. Whitney shares in the book, “It won’t make you a superhero, able to do anything and everything in your 24-hour day.” And the most important message that she sends throughout is: You can’t do everything if you want to do anything well.


Success, after all, can be defined in so many ways—and too many of us waste our time trying to figure out what that should look like in our own lives. Of course, scrolling through our social media feeds can fog up our lenses and make us feel as though we’re lightyears behind where we should be when, in reality, this is so far from true. How we view success is very personal and success metrics vary greatly depending on you and your children's life stage because priorities change. It's not static, but ever evolving. Tuning out all the noise isn’t easy, but it’s a first step in the right direction towards defining success as a working mother.




When asked what success in the workplace and at home look like, Dr. Whitney shared this powerful statement—one that certainly rings true for so many of us moms: 




"Success in the workplace and at home means that we are centered. We have a clear vision for our lives and our life goals. We make decisions that align with those priorities. We’re not bound by the pressures of societal gender bias, mom guilt, and outside agendas. We have a framework for spending the majority of our time and energy on the things that matter most to us, and for addressing the rest of the tasks and commitments in our lives that threaten to steal away from those precious resources.” 



If success is something you strive for in all areas of your life, that’s wonderful. It means you’ve chosen to give your all; to do your very best. But remember, success for you will always look different from success for your friend, your neighbor, or that influencer you follow on Instagram. Your life is unique to you, as is how success is expressed and embodied. 


Try this helpful exercise:
Write down what success means to you personally—not what society is telling you it should mean. Include all areas of your life—being a mom, being a spouse, being an employee, being a boss, being a friend, being a daughter, etc. For each of the areas in your life that you strive to succeed in, write down what success means to you, how you can achieve it in tactful and actionable steps. The goal here is to make sure that you are spending your time and energy in each of these areas on achieving goals that are important to you and that enrich your life. 


How do you measure success as a person, as a mom, as a professional?


Blog Response - American Moms + Support

Written by Jenn Sinrich

Jenn Sinrich is a freelance editor, writer and content strategist located in Boston, Massachusetts. She received her BA in journalism from Northeastern University and has a decade worth of experience working for a myriad of female-focused publications including SELF, Parents, Women's Health, BRIDES, Martha Stewart Weddings and more. When she's not putting pen to paper (or, really, fingers to keyboard), she's enjoying the most precious moments in life with her husband and daughter.

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About Our Guest: Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a practicing board-certified pediatrician, author, speaker, and full-time working mom. Dr. Whitney is a Stanford University-trained private practice physician whose expertise spans the public health, direct patient care, and media worlds. She holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from The University of California, Berkeley, and a Journalism degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She is also CEO and Founder of Modern Mommy Doc. Dr. Whitney advocates for the success of career-driven caregivers in all facets of their lives, guiding them toward increased focus, happiness, and effectiveness despite the systemic challenges and inherent biases that threaten to undermine them. 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By SYSTEMIC CHANGE 18 Apr, 2024
About Our Guest: Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a practicing board-certified pediatrician, author, speaker, and full-time working mom. Dr. Whitney is a Stanford University-trained private practice physician whose expertise spans the public health, direct patient care, and media worlds. She holds a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from The University of California, Berkeley, and a Journalism degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She is also CEO and Founder of Modern Mommy Doc. Dr. Whitney advocates for the success of career-driven caregivers in all facets of their lives, guiding them toward increased focus, happiness, and effectiveness despite the systemic challenges and inherent biases that threaten to undermine them. She speaks nationally about her Centered Life Blueprint, which teaches working caregivers how to pay attention to what matters most amid pressure, at multibillion-dollar corporations like Adidas and Nike, and at executive-level conferences. She is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics and medical consultant for large-scale organizations, including Good Housekeeping magazine, Gerber, and L’Oreal (CeraVe). Her work has been featured in Forbes, Thrive Global, and TODAY Parenting. She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today. Dr. Whitney practices medicine in Portland, Oregon, where she and her husband raise their two young daughters. About the Episode: Dr. Whitney shares the principles she's learned as a solopreneur in the health and wellness space, the failures she's faced, and the truths she wishes she would have known from the very beginning. Episode Takeaways: This is not an episode about “how to grow a multimillion dollar business” or how to double your following overnight. I really shy away from talking about business because it’s disheartening to see that most of the people making online are people who are trying to teach you how to make money online. This is an episode that comes from many conversations I’ve had recently with people who are wanting to start a side hustle or even a full blown business, but are curious how to do that with the rest of life that’s going on around them. I’ve recently made a hugely drastic shift in my career and have moved from private practice into a company called Blueberry Pediatrics . It is a shift that still allows me to practice medicine as well as still running Modern Mommy Doc full time. The thinking behind this shift really is born out of these 8 tips I have about running a business while you’re working full time or maybe still taking care of your family. 1) Know your why. We’ve heard it a thousand times, but if we don’t know the driving force behind why we want to do a certain thing, it’s infinitely easier to stop doing it when things get hard. Ask yourself why you’re so committed to this one particular area. In my business, my why is to help, support, and encourage women (specifically working moms) so they don’t feel alone in their journey. So when I’m pulled away from my family for a time period or I’m exhausted from traveling, I remember the greater mission behind what I do. 2) Expect that you’re going to fail. I just pulled the plug on a project we had been working on at Modern Mommy Doc for two years: the Modern Mamas Club app. I thought it was going to be so valuable for moms, when in reality it was just duplicating what we already had. I learned so much through that process and at the beginning, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Failure is a natural part of growth. 3) Prepare to invest in your business. With your time, with your money, with your emotions. People ask me how I grew and I told them it took a lot of time and a lot of my own money. There were times that that was discouraging, but because all of this was tied to my why, I was able to push forward. 4) Figure out what you can outsource and what has to be done by you. At the beginning you might not have any money to outsource with. But set yourself up for success and know what you’ll hand off when you get to that point. Don’t waste time trying to do it all. 5) Network based on what you love & pay for good PR. When you want to grow your business, network with the people that you genuinely connect with, not just because you might get a sale. Figure out who it would be mutually beneficial for you to get to know. And when it comes to PR, you’ve gotta pay to play the game. PR isn’t for instant leads, but is also a long game like networking. 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