"A mother is she who can take the place of all others but whose place no one else can take"

By Alana Beittel BSN, RNC-NIC, MLPC

Founder of Vibe Higher, LLC

Hello and welcome to my little space here! You are probably wondering how I got here, who I am, and what I do. So before I jump into the meat of this blog (all thing's life & motherhood) let me share how I went from Full time Nurse to Nurse/Health & Wellness Mentor, to Stay at home Mom to… Nurse/Mother/Entrepreneur, because let me tell you it was not planned and boy has it been a wild ride! I am a firm believer that everything in life happens for a reason and puts us on a path we are meant to be on.

I will give you the abridged version to spare you a novel. My name is Alana (uh-lay-nuh) thank you Dad for thinking my name did not need an I. Since I was 13 my only dream was to become a Nurse. I graduated Nursing school, landed my dream job in the NICU and I was LOVING my life… Until, I wasn't. Not even a year in I had lost the pep in my step. I was working night shift, not married, no children, so I was picking up all the extra shifts. If I wasn't working, I was exhausted which poured into my couch binging Netflix or partying my way through the weekends I didn't work. The high stress of a New Nurse transition, high acuity unit, poor self care, and zero work/life boundaries left me questioning the reflection in the mirror. “I am too young to feel this old.” I had hit a point where I could no longer fake being happy for my patients, for my co-workers, for my family, and worse… for myself.

That's when my personal journey with health & wellness began. I wanted my energy back, I wanted my NATURAL happiness back, I wanted to feel good in my clothes again, and man oh man I wanted to feel like more than a shell of a human being. So I dove into home fitness because let's be real... as nurses we need convenience. Something we can mold into our unpredictable schedules, and well, life. A few month's in, 3 to be exact, I turned a corner. I felt lighter, self care was something that I started to look forward to, and I was determined to pay that feeling forward to other Nurses. So that's exactly what I did, helping others establish a balance between health and life became a side passion project of mine.

Fast forward 4 years, I am now married, and pregnant for the second time (post miscarriage). During my pregnancy two of my brother's passed away 6 months apart from each other, then one short month later I welcomed my first born son into this world. I vividly remember a moment in the hospital holding him in my arms, alone in our room, and everything came crashing down. “Life is so short, it is so freaking short,” was the phrase that was going through my head and that was the moment that changed the trajectory of my life. Being a Nurse is still a huge part of who I am and what I do, but becoming a Life & Performance Coach to help women live a life they LOVE, to go after their goals and their dreams is now my mission.

Life is short and you should live it to the FULLEST, doing the things you love, the thing's you are passionate about so that you don't wake up one day “wishing I would have done.” Life is for living. Not surviving.

Easier said than done right? How do you go after goals, how do you chase those bigger dreams (pipe dreams for most) and still work, raise a family, and be present when life feels like a Tornado that is going to spit you out but you don't know when or where. How do you make time for yourself when you are ALWAYS needed. Between being a Nurse, a mother, a spouse, a friend… having time for yourself is laughable.

Yet, you crave it. You want to create space for yourself, you want to make your health a priority, you want to be a flipping good Nurse AND a present mother AND I am here to share with you that you can have all of these things without the guilt.

Guilt… I think that is the #1 thing that holds Mother's back. Tell me if this sounds familiar.

You want to be more present at home, but you feel guilty for not picking up an extra shift because your co-workers are drowning and the unit will go to shit if they don't have enough hands and it kills you to think  about what your co-workers would have to do and go through so what's one more shift?

You want to be the fun, happy, care free person you once were at work, but you are carrying the weight that you won't see your kids for the 3rd day in a row, and you are thinking about the family event that you are yet again missing because no one can understand that you work a weekend rotation. Isn't it funny how it always falls on the weekends we work??? And now you're at work feeling guilty you aren't at home.

You want to get down on the floor and spend time with you kiddos, but you are thinking about the never ending house to do list that needs to get done, and you can't put off laundry any longer, and when was the last time you had a weekend getaway with friends, and you crave more time with your spouse that doesn't involve logistics of the kids schedules and work schedules.

You finally have a minute to sit, breath, relax, and maybe watch a movie but you start to think man I should probably workout like I said I would for months but you are too exhausted, and then you beat yourself up because you still can't bring yourself to get started, and you begin to think that it's just not feasible in this season of life and some day you will have time.

All this to say we are never mentally where  we are physically and that adds an entirely new level of exhaustion that weighs heavier than anything physical. The guilt cycle is never ending and the mental battle becomes debilitating. This is why I created, “Triage Your Life; Rekindle Your Purpose.” The key to living a happy and successful life, in my opinion, starts with you and in your home. We first need to bring clarity around what we want our life to look like, feel like, and how we want to show up day in and day out. But we need to make sure it's a way that is aligned with who you are and what is meaningful to you. Not what society places on you, not how you think you should be doing x, y, z… but how you want to do life. To achieve this we first have to start with the end in mind.

Take time and answer these questions for me so you can become more aware of what it is you truly want. Clarity breeds energy and energy feeds motivation.

1. Write down what a perfect day would look like to you, on your days off what is the perfect day in your definition then on the days you work what is the perfect day (minus the thing's out of your control) I want you to think more about what you can control… your morning routine, how you greet people, the energy you bring the unit, how you interact, how you want to make other people feel. This requires reflection and ownership on the parts that you play.

2. How do you personally want to feel everyday?

3. What is your ideal work/life/motherhood balance? 

4. If time and money were not an obstacle, what is that big goal/dream that is on your heart? Ya know the one you daydream about when driving down the road before you are snapped back to reality.

5. What type of mom do you want to be? How do you want to show up for your kids?

6. What is your definition of a successful life? If we fast forwarded 20 years from now and you were reflecting on your life… what would make you feel successful and accomplished?

In my program I teach a coined 3 part method that allows you to take back control of 3 important areas. Your time, your perspective, and your energy. When you learn how to take back control of your days, how to shift your perspective in all areas of life, and how to ignite your energy you will feel at peace, be fully present for those you love, and live a life you LOVE. You will no longer feel pulled in 50 million directions and you will rekindle your passions and your purpose.

Alana Beittel BSN, RNC-NIC, MLPC

Founder of Vibe Higher LLC.

Creator of Triage Your Life; Rekindle Your Purpose

Want to connect with Alana? Email alanakaybeittel@gmail.com

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