Mother's Day: Work Ethics I Have Learned From My Stay-At-Home Mom

I may not recall all that I was taught at school, but I remember this: Mothers are our first teachers. However, we often tend to limit this idea of learning from our moms to primary education, when she would sit with us for our homework sessions or help us prepare for the exams. We are likely to overlook the myriad ways she teaches us to excel in different walks of life, leading by her example.

Today, I want to appreciate the strong work ethics my wonder woman has inculcated in me, by just being her marvellous self… She is a homemaker and this is how she has made me a better professional.

Having just one task at hand would have been ideal, but more often than not, life throws many responsibilities at once. Some duck, some make a fuss, and others work smartly to get things done with a methodical approach.

Multi-tasking is imperative for smooth management, the bridge between I can’t and I will. How else would she squeeze in a hundred household chores, while keeping up with everyone else’s schedule and offering support to her loved ones, near and far?!

Life will never be enough, and there will always be something that falls short. Instead of complaining about the lack of resources, make the best use of what you have. Because irrespective of how much you have in the kitchen, the food on the plate should always taste nice. Nonetheless, discern what is absolutely necessary and never hesitate to voice those needs and concerns.

This often comes when you let go of the feeling that you are working for someone else, and treat your work as your responsibility. Because the greater good is also your personal benefit.

After the Nth argument with my mom about things silly and significant, I am well aware—she won’t give up! From barring unnecessary expenditure to ensuring that I followed the curfew sincerely, she ensured that she got me on board with her decisions. Where control didn’t serve her well, she resorted to a good-enough reason to convince me.

She knows her house and her people like her prayers, revisiting every day to understand them better. She remembers important dates, plans things ahead of time, and knows exactly where to be the backbone and when to offer her lap for comfort.

Even on days she is not running the show, she is well aware of what’s happening. Because to stay in the system you should be well-aware of how it works, at any given time.

Times will change, so will the needs, and to stay effective one must adapt and evolve accordingly. Everything from my dad’s new work project that required him to stay abroad for months to my teen paroxysms was met with an improvised approach, which helped us stay strong as a loving family while growing in our different directions.

Work-life balance is not something someone else can bestow upon you. To keep up with your mental wellbeing while doing a job that asks for your 100%, you need to truly love what you do. This way, when you have to tell yourself where to stop, you’ll know it’s both, important and necessary, for the greater good and your own.

When things went south, my mother would quickly come out of her self-pitying bubble and focus all her energies in finding a solution. She knew where to pull a few strings, whom to call, and measures to take for damage-control. She may have had enough people to blame for her difficult circumstances, but she kept choosing victory over everything else.

There’s nothing more common than sincere efforts going unnoticed. In those moments you should know, you don’t do everything for the praise, you do it for the smooth functioning of the system, and those who matter will know your worth.

Just like our affection towards people, love for our work will not always be met with affirmations, but the important part is that it doesn’t always need to be.