Meet Natalie Gwynn

Natalie is mom extraordinaire. With 2 kids of her own, she and her family decided to adopt a child from overseas. When they went, they not only came back with that one child but all 4 siblings, making her family of 4 double to a family of 8.

But not only is she a mom to 6 (almost all who are teenagers), she as an author, speaker, fitness instructor, and a ray of light where ever she goes.

Balance is a myth

We’re never going to feel in balance all the time. Life is a series of checks and balances and constantly readjusting to the things in life. Life is about finding the things in life that matter the most to us, putting those in the forefront, and juggling the give and take among all the things calling for our attention.

How are you measuring success

For Natalie, success is defined by how “am I going to love my family well.” But everyone’s definition of success is different. Deciding and defining what success looks like for you and your family is going to give you a measuring stick when choosing what takes up room within your life.

Determining how you want to measure success not only gives you a tool to decide what gets your precious time, but also helps to break the cycle of comparison. You have to fight against the urge to compare against other’s definition of success and stick to your own journey.

Teens get a bad rap

The teenage years can be really fun. We have to stop believing the lie that raising teens is hard. Raising 2 year olds is hard. Raising teens is hard. Our mindsets around the teen years makes all the difference.

We want our teens to know that we believe they are awesome. Teens can be fun, witty, and can have really engaging conversations. Embrace the awesomeness that can come with teen years and you’ll begin to see more awesome in that season.

It’s really important for us to adjust our mindset about teens and the teenage years and focus in on the amazing aspects of raising teens.

How do you go after dreams and still maintain balance?

You have to schedule out the things you want in your life. You have to plan out the details of where your time is going to be spent and ensure that the important things are on your schedule.

If you have a dream, you have to make time for it on your calendar. If it isn’t on your calendar, they isn’t going to happen.

A dream without a plan is never going to become reality. Put those dreams into bite sized chunks and get it on your calendar.

Exercise is Essential

It’s often one of the first things pushed off our plates because we say we don’t have enough time. However, exercise fuels you to do so many other things in your life. It gives you the energy to go after your dreams and can be a key ingredient in helping you reduce stress in your life.

Every yes is a no

There are lots of amazing opportunities in the world, but that does not mean they are a good opportunity for you in this season.

Check in with each opportunity regarding how it aligns with your priorities. Are the things you are adding into your calendar something you really want into your calendar?

Saying no can be hard because we want to be liked and we don’t want to hurt people’s feels. But we can say no kindly.

Ultimately, the receiver’s reaction to your no is not your responsibility. All you need to do is make decisions that align with your family’s values.

We need to give ourselves more grace

If we aren’t giving ourselves more grace, we’re setting ourselves up for failure. We’re going to make mistakes. We have to give ourselves grace to laugh about those mistakes.

Allow yourself to embrace the mistakes with joy and laughter.

More about Natalie

You can get in touch with Natalie on her website at NatalieGwynn.com or dive into her book The Okayest Mom