Humans are capable of doing great things. A little girl might have no idea right now that she will become a pilot someday. An unfortunate boy might feel bad being born in a poor family may become a doctor, an engineer, or astronaut in the future. Our next-door neighbor may look lazy in our eyes but surprise! Ten years after, he became the best online gamer in the country.
We don't know the future, we do not hold it and it is not even promised. But we have the power to do better today for our future selves. Our actions today are fueled by several things but the main gas would be motivation.
I heard of a colleague who told us a story of her life. Let's call her Amy. She was a boyish type in the sense that she enjoys the company of male friends, in her thirty years of living in this world, she found no joy in the things she does. Her job, her career, she said it was all nothing for her at that time, she lost the sense of living. She'd even said if killing herself would not bring her to hell, she'd end her life because she does not see any reason for living. She'd be wasted days and nights during her day-offs. She'd tell us she had done so many things unimaginable for a woman her age but she doesn't care at all, she could do whatever she wanted until her last breath but then things changed when she learned she was pregnant!
Holding her baby, she somehow saw a different world. She found light in her dark tunneled life, she said she found MOTIVATION to live.
Motivation is a big word. Thus, when I was tagged by @MizLhaine about this topic, I couldn't help but think of Amy. She showed me how this word could turn a dying, unfruitful life into something beautiful, a selfless mother.
For me and Amy, we live by the same motivation as I am a mother myself now. What I do daily and what I planned to do in the next few days, weeks, months, and years are all stoked not by mere feelings alone but by a person - MY SON.
He is less than a year old but he inspires me every day to be selfless, to pour out everything that I could give because of one reason, he is my son.
As a baby, he could do nothing but depend on us, his parents. And as parents, giving him the best life that we could provide him motivates us to do better in all areas of our life, may it be financially, physically, emotionally, and even the spiritual part.
Financially
Before I became a mother, I was a wife and at that time, my motivation and outlook in life are directed to my husband. But as we both learned that we were pregnant, our priorities changed, our motivation had shifted.
From buying our personals, we both sacrificed for our baby. We used to buy camera gear, stuff for our hobby, and book tickets for the love of travel.
But, after the pregnancy test came positive, our trips were canceled, we had two domestic travel plans in Camiguin and Siargao but we thought of bailing out. Gladly, due to the pandemic, our tickets were valid for refunds.
Instead of buying new gears, we bought a car because we don't want our baby to get drenched in the rain if we travel with a motorcycle.
We already planned for the baby's insurance policy, we prepared for his arrival, we invested in growing baby classes, and more things that I can't anymore enumerate here. I stopped buying unnecessary things for myself, the same goes for my husband.
Our online hustles and day job's driving force to get up and work is all due because we have to give baby Matti the best that we can.
Physically
Having a person who depends on us in every single area of his life motivated us to be healthy, to focus on our physical health, and although there were several instances of me eating out a huge meal because of pregnancy cravings, I aimed to always take care of my body.
While pregnant and was entering the third trimester, I had to wake up early, do my pelvic floor exercises and walk up the stairs to help me give birth normally, our goal was to be able to push the baby normally.
Thankfully, I gave birth normally to a bouncing 4.5 kg baby boy and the first few days were just unbearable, I never thought that I could make it, it was only because of my son that I made it. He was the reason why I can't just lay in bed, I had to stand with all the body pains and eyebags because he needed me. His crying motivated me to get well soon.
For his sake, we have to decide to go to Bohol so we could give him the best tender loving care. All decisions that we had made, it was all because of his sake.
Emotionally
The mental health of course is part of the picture. With all that is happening in the world, I had to distant myself from the negativities brought about by the pandemic. I stopped watching the news because they were depressing, thinking of people dying from different parts of the world was just too much to bear. I have to be free from the emotional baggage while pregnant so it was a mutual decision that I must not watch nor be known about what's going on in the world.
I know that there were countries affected way too much by the pandemic but I just kept it that way, I didn't deal with the details anymore.
Going out to breathe too helped manage my stress levels especially when Cebu City was placed under a different type of quarantine which already allows people to go out.
Spiritually
One of our priorities was of course to be spiritually matured because the main goal was to bring our baby to the loving knowledge of our Saviour Jesus Christ once he is big enough to understand the gospel.
With our baby growing right now, we are motivated to intentionally expose him to Christian music, Biblical kid songs especially, it is our aim that he will be influenced with the things concerning the spiritual aspect of our lives and eternity because that's truly what matters.
We intentionally also allow him to be there during our Bible studies and prayer meetings. To get him used to be in corporate worships, seeing the church members during Sunday services.
Conclusion
Our actions are all driven by different types of motivation, it is a force that makes us do what we wanted to do. For me and my husband, we are motivated by a single person and we are blessed to be allowed to be the steward of this baby, acknowledging that we don't own him but he is a gift from above, this truth is important.
This topic is relevant to Writing Prompt #2: Motivation initiated by @JonicaBradley . Now I am tagging @keeneek, @me2selah and @yoieuqudniram you might like to write on this prompt.
xoxo,
mommy jean of momentswithmatti
Love harder than any pain you've ever felt.
