008 Juggling parenting and life can be tough!

Welcome to episode 8 of the Fail Forward podcast.   If you’ve listened to previous episodes, you’ll know that I’m a family man. Parenting and business are both super tough in their own right. Put them together and the pressure can feel overwhelming. This episode is part reflection of my own parenting journey and part some advice I wish I’d had before things went wrong.    Parenting through the good times When my daughter was born, life was good. I had a thriving business, we had a nice lifestyle, and our baby girl was the icing on the top of a bloody good cake.    I took time off to bond with my daughter - she was the apple of my eye and I treasured every minute I spent with her.    Fatherhood was everything I’d hoped it would be.    Parenting under pressure Our little boy arrived just as things were hitting an all time low. I should have been around more but I was stressed, panicking and “in the room” whilst simultaneously being totally absent.   I became fixated by my phone. Checking the bank account, looking at my emails, trying to find solutions and praying for a miracle (which we know didn’t come).    During the early months I struggled to bond with our wonderful little boy.    Becoming the parent I wanted to be Losing the business and our family home forced me to evaluate everything in my life - including who I was as a parent.    I am not a perfect parent and this episode isn’t intended to guilt trip or criticise. Perfection, in my opinion, doesn’t exist. We all have to find acceptance that it’s all a question of balance and set our own non-negotiables (episode 6 explains these in more detail).   Even in parenting to the very best of our ability I do believe we are, in fact, failing forward.    If you’re enjoying the Fail Forward podcasts, follow me on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or LinkedIn for all the latest on my mission to help business owners Fail Forward.    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/failforwardhenri LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/henri-ghijben-539132101/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@failforward12 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/henrighijben/