Creating Your Personal Self Growth Plan

[Ready to live your best life? Discover how to create your personal self growth plan so you can move towards the life you envision for yourself.]

Do you feel a yearning for personal growth?

Motherhood is a personal growth journey in itself, and it can lead us to crave more guidance so we can peel back the layers of our patterns and beliefs and up level so we can be the best parents we can be.

Today on the Soul Care Mom Podcast, I chat with Aurora Burkart, the founder of Andimo Home Goods and the inventor of the Laundry Buddy. She shares how you can create a self growth plan and go on your own personal growth journey as a mom.

Welcome to the Soul Care Mom Podcast. I’m Catherine Wilde of soulcaremom.com.

I’m a mom of three amazing kids, a soul care mom coach, and a yoga and meditation teacher. I’ve helped hundreds of women, and I’m here to help you feel calm and find your unshakeable confidence as a mom. If you’re ready to stop living in survival mode and you’re ready to drop the mom guilt and overwhelm, this podcast is for you.

Think of this as a lunch date with a girlfriend. Grab a cup of tea and get cozy. It’s time to get honest and vulnerable and shift the traditional mindset around motherhood. Be sure to subscribe to be the first to know when new episodes are released. Get ready to grow and feel empowered as a mom. I’m here for you, mama.

You can also listen to this conversation on iTunes, Spotify, or your preferred podcast platform.

[Disclaimer: The information shared is from personal experiences and/or research. We’re not medical professionals. We share in hopes that it will help you tap into new insights and inspire you. Everything shared is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. Always seek the guidance of a trusted health professional for your unique journey.]

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Catherine Wilde

Hi, Aurora. I’m so happy you’re here.

Aurora Burkhart

Hi, it’s nice to be here.

Catherine Wilde

I’m really excited to talk with you all about all things personal growth and motherhood. And you’ve been on quite a journey yourself with motherhood, starting your own business. Could you share a bit about your journey with us?

Aurora Burkhart

Sure. I would say with entrepreneurship and with my own personal growth and motherhood, I would say during when the pandemic started, I had my first and I was pregnant with my second. And like anyone, I think a lot of people audited their lives in the pandemic. What was happening in their life? Was this where they see themselves going?

Are they happy in their relationships, personal family, their jobs?

Just are they at where they want to be in life? And I just looked back and said, No, I’m not the person I want to be. And that fell into every category as a wife, a friend, a mother, personal and job wise. I had my real estate license, but I wasn’t using it, especially back in the pandemic.

You couldn’t really go and show houses. So I just realized I really wanted to act on entrepreneurship with this product that I had in mind. And in order to invent that product and to start that company, I wasn’t the person I needed to be.

And I realized I needed to be that person. And most importantly, I needed to show my sons that person that I really wanted to be and someone who they deserve.

How Do You Create Your Personal Growth Plan

Catherine Wilde

I love so much of what you said, like then the auditing your life. It’s so important to sometimes we can get on this, have this momentum taking us in a direction.

And is it the direction we want to go to be able to pause. And even though the pandemic turned everyone’s world upside down, it also gave us this worldwide pause. It made us go down. I love that.

And that you asked yourself who you wanted to become was such a powerful question and reflection because who we are now is the sum of our past thoughts and beliefs in the way we have been being. But it doesn’t mean that that’s who we have to be. That’s so powerful.

Aurora Burkhart

Yeah. I also just realizing our external dialog really becomes your internal dialog. And I feel like you get that voice really young. So I’m learning to be very intentional in every single aspect of my life.

But the biggest thing I’m also being very intentional with is trying is with my kids because I really just… These years are so crucial. They’re going to be four and two. So I know that our conversations are their internal dialog. So I’m just might be very intentional.

Catherine Wilde

Yeah, exactly. So it has this really beautiful ripple effect on your kids when you do that your own in our work and start to notice what we’re saying to ourselves, right?

Aurora Burkhart

Yes.

Catherine Wilde

And as far as personal growth, for moms, it can be intimidating to navigate, right? So often we throw ourselves into motherhood and we can end up feeling really disconnected from who we are, who we were, or just losing ourselves in the process. What was your experience around that and finding yourself on your journey?

Aurora Burkhart

I just felt like in the beginning of motherhood, it’s like, you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. I just feel like you’re expected… It was the saying you’re expected to work like you have no kids, but you’re expected to mother like you have no job.

And it’s just like, It’s just such high expectations for mother that we just are like, I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. And we very much pour from an empty cup because we’re like, we need to put everyone else first above ourselves. That’s my role. That’s my job.

I brought these beings into the world. I just was seeing that me essentially pouring it from an empty cup.

Obviously, it’s empty. I was giving my kids not the best version of myself because I wasn’t working on trying to become the best version of myself. And it’s so hard because you have moments where you’re like, you feel guilty.

I know, okay, I want to be with you, but I have to go work out. I have to go meditate, or I have to go read, and you just need to give yourself that time. And it’s a ripple effect. It’s going to affect everyone. But it’s hard for us to be selfish at times.

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Catherine Wilde

Yeah. And so much of it is what we’re taught, like you’re saying, right? We’re told that we should be this way and do this and put everyone else first. And there’s really no time left to consider what we need and take care of ourselves for sure.

Okay. So you mentioned guilt, and that’s something that holds so many of us back on our personal growth journeys. Is that mom guilt? Do you have any tips to help us navigate mom guilt so that we can embrace self growth, personal growth in a really unapologetic way that’s true to us?

Aurora Burkhart

I think the thing that was my aha moment is you’re saying, oh, well, I can’t go and do this or whatever way you want to do it. Even if it’s just like you going and meeting up with your friends every now and then for an hour for lunch, you think, I can’t go and do that because I have to be there with my kids. I feel so guilty. And I think the aha moment for me was, okay, well, if I continue life this way, are they going to be the best person because of who I am now?

No, I don’t think they’re getting the best. It’s just looking at just, I would say, that connection and level of being present. We can be there with our kids 365 days a year, 24/7, but are we present? Is our presence really known? Are we just sharing time? Are we sharing energy?

I realized we weren’t sharing energy because I wasn’t very present because I’m in my own head. I mean, I’m still in my own head. I’m human. I’m not perfect. So I think that was my thing is if I keep going this way, what guilt worse? Is it not working on myself to show them how I’m trying to be a balanced individual, not just their mom, so that they can in turn go if they decide to have kids as a father, like, hey, am I balanced? Am I present? What energy am I sharing? That’s just it for me.

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Personal Growth Action Plan

Catherine Wilde

Oh, yeah. That’s a really great point. We feel guilty either way. Either we’re with our kids, maybe short with our kids, yelling at our kids because we are so low on mind. Our cup is so empty, we’re feeling guilty. So what makes more sense? What is really benefiting everyone?

Yeah, good perspective. I love all of this. And if there is a mom listening right now and she’s been trying to figure out what personal growth might look like for her, she’s feeling stuck, what would you suggest to her? Can you help her take her first steps on her self growth plan to kickstart her journey?

Aurora Burkhart

I mean, honestly, I would say listen to your intuition. If there’s something that in the back of your mind goes, oh, I’ve always wanted to try yoga. I think people think of yoga as just an exercise and not like a full mind body experience.

Or they’re like, Hey, I think I’m going to read. I read this book and I never heard of that perspective before. I would say go with your intuition and honestly, trial and error. You just don’t… I’m still figuring out what is something where I’m like, Okay, I have 30 minutes for my own personal growth journey that I feel like it’s going to move me forward. What is that?

What do I think I’m going to get the most out of it? Is it reading? Is it meditating? Is it going and listening to podcast? So I would just say trial and error, just find what works for you and also listen to your intuition because there’s a reason you might want to gravitate towards something.

Creating A Personal Growth Plan So You Can Live Your Best Life

Catherine Wilde

Yeah. There’s so much wisdom within us, right? And there’s so many things on the outside telling us what we need to do, but when we can tune in. Yeah, I love that. So I would love to hear what was your biggest aha or surprising moment or what was it on your journey that you wrote, that you’ve learned or that you could share with us?

Aurora Burkhart

I would say it was during the pandemic and listening to podcast. My husband, he was like, I have both my earplugs and he’s like, Are you listening to the podcast?

I’m like, Yes. I was listening. At first it was real estate and then just a couple of podcasts. Obviously, if you look at various successful people, they don’t just focus on their job. I think I’ve heard from someone best is, if you focus on your own self and your own personal growth, everything else is going to fall in line.

And it’s like, don’t pour everything into your job, pour everything into you. So I just kept listening to all these podcasts I guess. And then it was, okay, let me start reading. And then it was, hey, I think I’m ready to finally go to therapy for myself. And then it was healing your inner child. And then you’re like, okay, let’s meet my therapist. Go meditate.

That’s going to open you up so much more. I’m just going down a rabbit hole of personal growth. I really hone into it and I love it. I also love this where I’m able to connect with other strangers who are like minded. And it just makes my whole day to be like, Oh, my God. I don’t even know you. And you and I, you’re talking about the same yoga or the same book or Dr. Joe. And it’s just I love it. It’s amazing.

Catherine Wilde

Oh, I agree. Yeah, it’s so lovely to connect with you. And so speaking of your business, can you tell us about the Laundry Buddy? Tell us about your business and what you’re. Doing there.

Aurora Burkhart

Sure. So I invented a product. It’s called Laundry Buddy, and it’s a clip that you put onto your fitted sheet before you put it in your washer and dryer so it doesn’t swallow up the rest of your bedding. Because I got sick and tired of being like, Okay, I need to set a Timer on my phone in 30 minutes to go pull all the sheets out of the dryer because I know they’re going to be damp or all swallowed up. And I was like, you know what? I’m sick of this. I’m just going to invent it because I’ve always been drawn to entrepreneurship. I just did not know what it was going to be.

Absolutely no idea, which is why I tried real estate because I do love real estate. But I don’t want to say it’s a hobby, but it’s not like my main passion or where I’m like, yes, I want to be a real estate agent forever. So with that, we started on Andiamo Home. And this is our flagship product.

And all the other products I have in mind that have not come into fruition yet, I really, really just want to make high quality products that are actually going to help you and have your focus less on mundane tasks or just little inconveniences of your life just to give you more time that you can spend with your family and friends and not something that needs all this aggravation.

Catherine Wilde

Yeah, I love that. Oh, my gosh. I could have used your product. They were washing sheets. Yeah, that would have been so handy.

Aurora Burkhart

I know.

Catherine Wilde

And I love that you have more products on the way, like more things that you’re excited about. Yeah, that’s amazing. Thank you. So with everything that you do, your mom, you running your business, what do you love to do for yourself? What are your favorite self care practices?

Aurora Burkhart

I love to listen to podcasts. I love to work out. I love to meditate. Honestly, I like to just sit with myself. And I think that’s one of the greatest things that I’ve done was because it actually made me sit down and go, “Okay, what are you feeling? Why are you feeling that?”

And that just keeps bleeding me down. I keep asking myself, Why?

Until I go, Oh, that’s the root of the problem. Or, Oh, that’s why.

And I think everyone’s very scared to do that because they don’t want to have those answers. They know “I’m not happy in my life.”

I know I don’t like this job, but I’m just going to shove it down. It’s temporary. It’s temporary. So I really love doing that, all of those things. And I feel like it’s propelled me to where I am right now.

Catherine Wilde

I love that. And it can feel scary at first sitting with yourself because we’re not used to it. It can bring up uncomfortable emotions. Self care is this active becoming friends with yourself, right? Just really getting to know yourself and see what you need.

So I love that you sit with yourself and you ask yourself, what’s going on for me?

Yeah, I love that.

Okay, so you have been on this really beautiful journey and it’s just getting started.

If you could go back in time to when you first became a mom or when you first started your business or just any big point in time for you, what would you tell yourself? What would you share with her?

Aurora Burkhart

That’s hard. I would say for Oh, I think it’s both. You’re never going to be ready. You’re never going to have the perfect answer. It doesn’t exist because I was very much like a perfectionist where I’m not going to go out and do something unless I know everything. I can give you an answer for every single question you can throw at me, which goes in hand in hand with business and being a mom.

I think I just need to learn it’s all about trial and error, and you definitely need to be adaptable. You can’t just say, this is my angle and this is how I’m getting here, and that is that it’s written in stone. Every kid is even different. I’m seeing the differences between my two boys and I’m like, Okay, well, this isn’t going to work for you, but this one might work for you.

Or if I put it this way, you’re going to understand it. If I put it this way, you’re going to be like, What are you talking about?

So, I just say definitely adaptable and don’t try to be perfect or think you have all the answers because you will not and you never will. And I think that’s the beautiful thing of life is that we will not know all the answers. And it shouldn’t be that way because then what’s the point?

Catherine Wilde

Yeah. Oh, my gosh, I love that. I think for me, too, just taking messy action, like being able to take that first step forward, even though it feels scary, that’s where I learned so much.

I love that. That’s such great advice for all of us. Thank you for sharing.

Aurora Burkhart

No problem. Might not work for everyone, but…

Catherine Wilde

And can you share where we can find you online?

Aurora Burkhart

Sure. So you can go to Andiamo Home Goods that’s where you can find my business website. Everything else is business related for Andiamo Home Goods for Facebook and Instagram and TikTok.

Catherine Wilde

Perfect. Thank you so, so much for being here, for sharing your journey with us. I’m so glad you got to talk with you.

Aurora Burkhart

Thank you for having me. I really loved meeting you.

Catherine Wilde

Yeah, same here.

Thanks for joining me, mama. I’m over here smiling from ear to ear and giving you a big virtual hug. I love spending this time with you. You are amazing for showing up and carving out this space to nourish your soul. If you are loving the Soul Care Mom Podcast, be sure to subscribe and leave a review.

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