Break. It is one of those words with a double, almost contradictory meaning (kinda’ like motherhood)

I can give myself a break—a gift, a release of pressure, a bit of time.

Or I can break. My heart. Wide open. Break down.

What is remarkable to me is how very close the two meanings align in me. Like I am teetering on the knife-edge and depending on what way I fall I will either be OK, or well, broken.

And my hunch is that you Mamaloders understand this edge. That there are days when in the middle of the most mundane tasks, the tears flow hard. Those moments to when you get just enough head space to see how awesome life is. Your life. This one, here, right now.

So dear friend, give yourself a break, before you break.

I will too.

About the Author

Elke

Elke Govertsen is a entrepreneur and founder of Mamalode. She has been featured in Real Simple, Forbes, Where Women Create, Ad Tech, and listed as one of Origin Magazine's "Top 100 Creatives." She has been a speaker at The Girls Lounge, Adweek, C2Montreal, HATCH, TEDx and (her favorite) in classrooms. She speaks on a variety of topics from entrepreneurship to overcoming obstacles. She loves consulting in the areas of community design, storytelling and brand building. Her special skills include extreme bootstrapping, overcoming obstacles and creating opportunities. Of the many things she has learned by doing Mamalode, her ability to work with absolute chaos/kids/mess just might be the best. She is learning that slowing down creates more impact.