5 Lessons You'll Learn From Michelle Obama's "Becoming" As A Mother

Stating that Becoming is a must-read for any mother who wants to have her all would be an understatement.

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Michelle Obama's well-written biographical book started from her childhood journey on the South Side of Chicago to earning degrees from Harvard and Princeton. From obtaining a job at a law firm to marrying an ambitious man— who later on become the president of the United States of America.

Her inspiring story resonates with all mothers who venture on their path of "becoming". So, here are a few of its key lessons from the book.

1. On Career and Purpose

The majority of her memoir narrates her purpose and career. Growing up, she always asks herself, "Am I good enough?" despite graduating from two prestigious schools and working in a law firm. Fortunately, her husband's strong resolution changed her success mindset.

Michelle, later on, realized that being lawyer didn't make her happy. But at the same time, she was worried about making less money if she decided to resign. Sounds familiar, right? But, her dad's passing made Michelle realize that life's too short to miss once-in-a-lifetime chances.

Quotes from the book:

"If we want to make a career pivot, don’t lock ourselves in our heads and go to the real world with a thirst to learn and a belief that when we are genuine and willing to grow, people are generally open and helpful."

2. On Parenting

In the book, Michelle Obama shared how her parents always respect her and Craig's space of their own. In contrast to snowplow parenting, this taught them to be responsible for their decisions. Now, as a mother herself, she carried this on when raising her very own children.

Quotes from the book:

"Give our children space, let them use their brains and we don’t have to worry about how they would cope with adversities in life (and the robots, AI, or machine learning!). Instead, we will feel contented that their creativity and resilience carry them throughout their lives."

3. On Marriage

A happy, married woman with a beautiful family and a fulfilling career don't mean everything as opposed to what most people presumed. She and her husband fight more efficiently because of their differences.

However, the big challenge arrived when Barrack Obama decided to venture on his political journey, leaving Michelle to take care of their young children alone. As a result, their marriage was shaken with unmet expectations.

Quotes from the book:

"Help doesn’t have to come only from our spouses. If our husbands, in good faith, have maxed out his ability to support, help could be from our extended family, friends, and others. If we open our own minds that way, we have solutions to uplifting our lives while filling our hearts with contentment instead of resentment against our other halves."

"The reality is every marriage has miscommunication, misunderstandings, and conflicts. When spouse talks don’t work, and if we truly want to keep our families, don’t shy away from expert help as it helps unlock self-limiting hypotheses, get us and our husbands to learn to communicate better with each other, and strengthen the marriage."

4. On Happiness & Life

The First Lady courageously expressed her sentiments during the election campaigns and Obama's administration terms. She shared how these inevitable instances drained her emotionally. However, she pushed back all the disparaging thoughts by talking it out to Barack.

Quotes from the book:

“We all know that health is important, but when it comes to even the basics such as sleep and exercise, we always have reasons to stay away from them. So the next time we procrastinate, think of why we should run, do yoga, go to bed early, etc., and think of the vision where we don’t want to ask for forgiveness from our families and loved ones.”

5. On Voice

All throughout the book, Michelle Obama expressed her stories and thoughts about being a woman, a mother, and being black. After going after something that holds dear to her heart and seeing a brand-new path unfolded in significant ways, Michelle no longer lingers around the question of Am I Enough. She has finally become beyond herself.

Quotes from the book:

"Skin doesn’t matter. The accent doesn’t matter. Age doesn’t matter… All that matters is who we can help and what impact we create in the world. And this can be achieved by uncovering our life purpose and living it every day."

"By leveling ourselves with hard and purposeful work and by sharing our stories, we also show others who share our skin color, who share our accent, who share our age, … that they can."

So, this coming Mother’s Day, let’s celebrate the mothers we know in our life by giving them Michelle Obama’s Becoming as a present. Or, better yet, an undated planner to help her sort out her daily routine and encourage speaking out her emotions.