Scientist Mothers: Drop the Ball!

I used to fear dropping the ball, thinking it meant failure and disappointment. The phrase suggests you've let someone down, and I felt immense pressure to keep everything—work, family, responsibilities—perfectly balanced.

But after welcoming my daughters, I realized not all balls are the same.

Some are glass—fragile and irreplaceable—while others are rubber, able to bounce back when dropped.

I encourage you to embrace dropping the ball on purpose. Focus on what truly matters by identifying the glass balls to protect and the rubber ones you can drop or delegate.

You’ll find the world keeps turning, even with a few rubber balls on the floor. You may even become a happier, more fulfilled version of yourself.

By letting go of unrealistic expectations, you not only benefit yourself but also set a powerful example of balance and self-compassion.

How do you get started?

Do what you do best and conduct an experiment!

Conduct a soul search (instead of a literature search!), design your experiment, and reflect upon your results using the questions below.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Drop the ball

𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵:

🟢Consider your “glass balls”. What are the roles, responsibilities, values, relationships that are of greatest importance to you?

🟢 Set a timer for 5 minutes and jot down as many “rubber balls” as you can think of—balls that could be dropped temporarily or permanently. To help, think about what are some of the roles, responsibilities, tasks, or expectations that:

(1) are not serving you?

(2) are not best suited for you?

(3) could be delegated?

(4) could wait?

(5) could be dropped altogether?

𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻:

🟢 Of the above rubber balls, select ONE to drop temporarily as your experiment. The ball you choose to drop should be feasible but potentially impactful.

🟢 What will dropping this ball look like? How will you drop it? When and for how long? How will you observe and measure the results?

🟢What potential internal (e.g., limiting beliefs) and external (e.g., system-level, interpersonal, etc.) challenges might you face in testing your experiment?

🟢How could you overcome these anticipated challenges?

🟢 How will you hold yourself accountable to testing your experiment?

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀:

🟢What was the impact of your experiment (positive and negative)?

🟢What got in the way?

🟢What did you learn about yourself?

🟢How might you apply these learnings going forward?

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿?

Join us at one of our upcoming FREE virtual group coaching workshops where we explore strategies like this one to help scientist mothers achieve better balance.

Registration will be capped to keep the group intimate, so register early!

I can’t wait to see you there!

#Coaching #Leadership #WomenInMedicine #WomenInScience #WomenInSTEM #droptheball