I became a mother at a very young age. Too young if you ask any sane person. At 19, and during my first year of college, I became a mom to my now 9-year-old daughter. Right away, my views, priorities, and values changed. Fortunately, good education and a rewarding career were part of those values and priorities. While there were so many times I wanted to quit and end the constant juggling, I didn’t I knew one day, all the hard work, sleepless nights, and countless homework assignments would pay off.

Although motherhood felt like a setback at the time, I credit the responsibility with where I am today. Below are three ways motherhood empowers me in my career journey.

Builds boundaries

As I transitioned from college to a career, I quickly realized how many professionals were defined by their work. Many of my colleagues arrived at the office early, left extremely late, and couldn’t seem to figure out the work-life balance thing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is such thing as balance. I do, however, believe in boundaries, and as a young professional and mom, I knew I had to establish them right away.

Those boundaries have allowed me to maintain a sense of peace, privacy, and have allowed me to divide my time between my work and my family.

Stop settling

Since graduating college six years ago, I’ve had many career changes. I’ve gone from not-employed to employee, to entrepreneur, and back to employee again. Honestly, I’ve always been a bit envious of professionals that manage to stay at a single company for over a decade. While I admire the dedication, it’s hard for me to stay at a place where I’m miserable, burnt out, and don’t feel a sense of growth.

As a mom, the idea of settling is terrifying, which is why I’m constantly in search of what’s best for myself and my family.

Don’t sweat the small stuff

If you’re an over-thinker, over-analyzer, and sometimes over-dramatic person like me, you probably sweat a lot of stuff, which is oftentimes small stuff. My daughter and her unapologetic personality constantly remind me that there’s no reason to sweat the small stuff. At the end of the day, what’s done is done and all that’s left now is moving forward and taking things one step at a time. While I still do sweat the small stuff, I’m less likely to drown in my feelings because I have a small voice in my head telling me that everything will be just fine.

How has motherhood empowered you and your career?