Motivation & becoming a parent

Not long ago I became a father and this drastically and scarily increased my professional motivation to progress!

Now this might not resonate with all, in fact some of you may go the other way, be demotivated and your career may even take a back step but for me that's not the case.

What triggered me…

When we first got the news that my wife was pregnant something triggered in my mind. I wasn’t just working for myself anymore, I was going to be providing for and preparing another person (from scratch) to live in this crazy world. I felt an immense urgency to read and absorb everything about babies, nappies, sleep routines etc..

But… It didn't stop there…

As I read more and more about babies this drive for knowledge crept into the product world. I found myself reading book after book in the product space and building a reading list of what I wanted to learn next.

Since my sons arrival, I thought I would have less time to learn but this has kept pretty constant. I have:

• Read 8 books on product & Self management
• Scoured multiple blogs and product articles
• Watched over 18+ hours of LinkedIn learning content
• Completed an 8 week product leadership bootcamp

OK enough about how well I'm doing…

This is not just a shameless plug on how much ‘self-learning’ I have done, but actually a insight into my how I ground myself mentally and kept my career close to mind with everything going on at home.

If I hadn’t done this above I would not be in the same mental space I’m in now. Reading and learning has helped me through new parenthood and created a space to take care of myself and decompress.

I’m motivated for my son but also for me and that’s important.

I hope if you are a new or expecting parent you also find your own way to continue to learn and to decompress. Take care of yourself and if you are struggling talk to others!