Last night the Giants won the NFC Championship and from the shouts and impromptu dance moves, you would think my honey just watched the birth of his first born, or had front row seats for the Stones at Madison Square Garden.

Yes, we celebrate joys and miracles in our own ways and though I am not an avid football fan (far from it… I even had to ask who was playing), I will say that this weekend was really special. No, not because Eli Manning will now lead his team to their second Super Bowl on his watch, but because I got to sit by and observe my loved ones in pure states of unbridled terror-turned-joy.

Honey is happy, my kids are happy, and that brings me a kind of contentment that I have been lacking lately, and no matter where it came from, it was a welcome counterweight to the pressure I’ve been feeling.

In recent weeks I’ve been experiencing a bit of aimlessness and lack of focus.  I have many amazing projects to delve into such as finishing up the sample chapters on my in-progress book, marketing to attract new clients, and rewriting and recording my new voice-over demo.  

But somehow I haven’t managed to get any of that done.  Worse, I am feeling caught in a never ending spin cycle between wanting to create and needing to complete, and the fear I have of doing neither.

This isn’t an unusual state of mind for a mompreneur, or anyone else who seeks to master their own destiny, create a livelihood for themselves, and support their families.  But the burn out factor can be substantial if you get caught up in the “I-didn’t-get-enough-done-today” mindset.  At least it has for me.

I look at dwindling bank account numbers and weigh them against increasing expectations that I heap on myself thicker than the fat layered in a Paula Deen sausage pancake egg sandwich.  

One of the greatest challenges for those of us who work for ourselves, is knowing how to take a break from the inherent pressure we create and bask in the little joys that surround us.  There will always be work to do; always more that you can try to squeeze in and yes, occasionally we need something called sleep.  And for the self-employed, work mostly from home women (and men) like me, there is a potential to tip the scale unhealthfully, focusing too much on the side of never-ending-work that we feel compelled to tackle.

My home office doubles as my living room and that is a major part of my battle for balance.  I never get away from my “work” but last night, I stepped away from all of that and focused on the man on my couch and the big screen, instead of my computer’s.

Despite my half-hearted interest in the game, I was wholly interested in being present and enjoying the connection and happiness I felt for my honey who was clearly on cloud 9 with the Giants win.  And in that experience I relished the simple act of being still and letting go of everything else; because in that moment, nothing else mattered as much.

It was a nice reminder that we don’t have to wait for our teams to win championships to enjoy special moments.  We only have to start by remembering that we have the right to enjoy them in the first place.  There will always be tomorrow to get the rest of your to-do list checked off.  Right now, just sit down, rest, be in the company of those you love and oh yeah, if you feel like it, give a little cheer.