When you are the sole breadwinner in the family (whether that be because you are a single mother like myself, or because your husband is a stay-at-home dad), there are often tendencies to rest on your laurels, especially if you’ve struggled just to get to where you are today. I’ve seen numerous women who have raised their children on government aid alone, and after many years of living day-by-day, finally achieved some semblance of financial stability with a full-time job.
And while this is great for obvious reasons, that shouldn’t stop you from looking towards bigger and better things. Unfortunately, the inability to strive for higher and higher career marks is all too common with women in general, not even taking into account women who are raising families on their own and may not feel like they have the time to put in the extra effort to warrant a promotion.
But the reality is that a promotion will lead to even greater financial stability. Even if you are content with how much money you are making now, there is nothing wrong with wanting to earn even more money, especially in the context of a single mother, whose primary driving force is providing the best lives for their kids as possible. Getting a promotion only furthers this ability to give your kids more and more as they grow up.
Now this obviously will require some additional effort on your part. And this is often where women really put their ambitions on hold. But it is better to think of this extra work as a short-term investment that will pay off for you and your entire family in the long-term. Maybe you end up working longer hours, or are simply working harder each and every day meaning you come home from work more tired than usual. And that’s obviously not something that most people, let alone single mothers want to deal with. But it is all a sacrifice that you are making on your part, so that one day, you have that great new promotion, and are taking home more money with every paycheck than you were previously.
You will be able to provide more for your family, and give your kids the absolute best life possible. And in addition to directly benefiting yourself and your family financially, you are also able to set a great example for your kids as well. They will look at you and see how hard work pays off, and even those in less-than-ideal circumstances (i.e. that of a single mother raising kids all on her own), can succeed if they put in the effort. And that life lesson alone is perhaps just as valuable to your kids as the increased financial stability is, if not more so.