Startling information every mother needs to know in order to successfully navigate as a mom and thrive as a person.

2. The 4 Most Disturbing Trends Facing All
Mothers Today
Startling information every mother needs to know in order to successfully navigate as
a mom and thrive as a person.
Researched and Produced by Sigrid Kjeldsen from The Joyful Mother

5. Trend 1:
Women Are Less Happy Today Than They
Were 35 Years Ago

7. We were happier in the 70s!
• According to a new study by the research team
Stevenson and Wolfers, professors at Wharton
School of the University of Pennsylvania, “The
Paradox of Declining Female Happiness,” women
report being a lot less happy then they used to be 35
years ago.
• The study states that this trend cannot be attributed
to one single social phenomenon, but it does
attempt to explore some of the possibilities such as
expanded opportunities for women, higher divorce
rates, wage gaps and financial challenges.
• But the one that was only briefly mentioned
although seemed to have the most potential to
explain this phenomenon is that of the modern
moms almost constant state of busyness.
Source: American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 2009, The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness

9. The Busy Mom
• According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Research,
60.7% of women with children under 3 years old were
in the labor force in 2010
• During the time period between 2000 and 2002, 79.4%
of women who worked during pregnancy had returned
to the workforce within a year of their first childbirth.
• In addition to work, Arlie Hochschild’s and Anne
Machung state in their book, The Second Shift (1989),
that women have maintained the emotional responsibility
for home and family.
• According to recent statistics from the Working
Mother Clean House Survey, only 20% of married
working moms share housework equally with their
spouses.
Source: 2009 U.S. Census Bureau Research, Women Leaving & Re-entering the Work Force / American Economic Journal: Economic
Policy 2009, The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness / Working Mother Working Mother Clean House Survey

11. Alarming Results
Katrina Alcorn, journalist and blogger surveyed 600 working parents (96% of the
respondents were women) in 2011 about stress and its effects on their health. She
got some pretty alarming results:
• 80% catch up on work nights and weekends
• 81% worry they will burn out
• 88% said they suffer from at least one stress-related health problem since becoming a working
parent.
• 59% have problems with anxiety
• 43% struggle with depression
Source: Working Moms Break, Working parents: How are you doing survey

13. “It is incredibly easy to get caught up
in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of
life, to work harder and harder at
climbing the ladder of success only to
discover it's leaning against the wrong
wall. It is possible to be busy — very
busy — without being very effective
at building a life for yourself.”
Stephen Covey, 1987, “Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People”

15. Trend 2:
Perfectionism Can Kill You

17. You Don’t Measure Up?
• The following study showed that the personality trait of
perfectionism is linked to poor physical health and an
increased risk of death.
• Dr. Prem Fry’s study found that those with high perfectionism
scores, meaning they placed high expectations on themselves
to be perfect, had a 51-percent increased risk of death
compared to those with low scores.
• The researchers suspect high levels of stress and anxiety,
which are known to be linked with perfectionism, might
contribute to the decrease in lifespan.
• Another study found that at work, 38% of women did not feel
they met the high standards they set themselves, compared
with 24% of men.When it came to home and family life, 30%
of women felt they were failing to meet the standards they
wanted to compared with 17% of men.
Source: Trinity Western Magazine, Death by Perfection / BBC News, Perfectionism Hits Working Women

19. “Ideals are like stars; you will not
succeed in touching them with your
hands. But like the seafaring man on
the desert of waters, you choose
them as your guides, and following
them you will reach your destiny.”
Carl Schurz, address, Faneuil Hall, Boston,
1859

21. Trend 3:
Women Get Sadder With Age; Men Get
Happier

23. Love and Money
• A study found that women are, on average, happier than men in early
adulthood – but the glow wears off with time. Specifically, after the
age of 48, men's overall happiness exceeds women's happiness.
• These patterns of overall happiness correlate to patterns in two
significant aspects of life satisfaction: family and finances.
• Early in adult life women are more likely than men to fulfill their
material goods and family life aspirations and their satisfaction in
these areas of life is higher than mens and so too is their overall
happiness.
• In later life it is "men [who] come closer to fulfilling their
aspirations, are more satisfied with their family lives and financial
situations, and are the happier of the two."
• Some age milestones:
41: Age at which men's financial satisfaction exceeds women's
financial satisfaction
48: Age at which men's overall happiness exceeds women's overall
happiness
64: Age at which men's satisfaction with family life exceeds women's.
Source: Phys Org, Women End Up Less Happy Than Men

25. Are you cutting yourself some slack?
• Another possible reason for the difference in
happiness levels between men and women as we
age is workload and depression.
• In a recent study, Katrina Leupp from the
University of Washington found that career
women are less likely to show symptoms of stress
compared to housewives. But when they these
career moms don’t cut themselves any slack and
put unrealistic expectations to balance career and
home, they become more prone to depression.
• Women who go into employment expecting it to
be difficult -- 'I'm going to have to work full time
and do the laundry at night,' but who are
accepting of that are less likely to be frustrated
than women who expect things to be more equal
with their partners.
Source: US News and World Report, Trying to Be 'Supermom' Can Raise Risk for Depression

27. “Happiness is a journey, not a destination”
― Ben Sweetland

29. Trend 4:
Kids Don’t Make Us Happier, They Make
Us Less Happy!

31. Rather shop for groceries...
• Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness has found that
marital satisfaction decreases dramatically after the birth of the
first child—and increases only when the last child has left home.
He also ascertains that parents are happier grocery shopping
and even sleeping than spending time with their kids.
• Dr. Gilbert’s premise in the book is that people have the inability
to predict what will make them happy or sad.
• In 2004, psychologist Daniel Kahneman, and his colleagues
published a paper tracking the experience of 909 women going
about their daily lives.
• The women were asked to give a general happiness assessment
of their previous day and to reconstruct a diary of their
activities.They were then questioned in detail about each event.
• “Intimate relations” brought women the most pleasure, followed
by socializing. All the way down at number twelve of sixteen in
the rankings was “taking care of my children.” Childcare was
only slightly more pleasurable than “computer / internet / email.”
Source: New York Times article, The Joy of Delusion / Babble article, Are you Happy, Are you Sure?

33. What are we focusing on?
• Robin Simon, professor of sociology at Wake Forest
University says that “No group of parents, whether
married, single, step or empty nesters, reported
significantly greater emotional wellbeing than non-parents.
Of the three major components of adult life —
employment, friendship and parenthood — raising children
is the only one that doesn’t promote wellbeing.”
• Research that found a significant increase in life satisfaction
for both men and women one year before the birth of
their child and during the birth year, but then noted a
sharp drop within one year after the birth. Four years
later, parents were no happier than they were at pre-child
levels.
• The research presumed that parents are more likely to
focus on mundane duties such as the school run or
mealtimes, rather than the less frequent but more
happiness-inducing moments such as a first smile, first
step, or even just a goodnight cuddle.
Source: Psychologies article, Do Children Make Us Happier

35. If I had my child to raise all over again,
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd finger-paint more, and point the finger less.
I would do less correcting and more connecting.
I'd take my eyes off my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
-Diane Loomans, from "If I Had My Child To Raise
Over Again"

38. Secret Sauce to Happiness
Would more clothes make you happier? How about a bigger house, more
stuff, more money, a better job, cooler friends?
Yeah, maybe it would...for like a week or two, maybe a few months. But
then what? More stuff, more friends, more money to fill that craving?
What about freedom, self-defined freedom? Freedom to determine your
own actions, behavior and thoughts? What about the feeling of self-
reliance, self-sufficiency? That YOU are in charge of your life. How would
THAT make you feel?
The ability to define and direct who we are and what our life looks and
feels like is the root of all happiness...really, it is!

40. • Psychologists Ronald Fischer, PhD, and Diana Boer, PhD.
state in their report in the The Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, the thing that makes us most happy,
beyond money, perfection, success and popularity is
"autonomy" - defined as "the feeling that your
life - its activities and habits -- are self-chosen
and self-endorsed."
• Researcher Angus Campbell emphatically endorses the
perks of autonomy. "Having a strong sense of controlling
one's life is a more dependable predictor of positive
feelings of well-being than any of the objective
conditions of life we have considered," says Campbell.
• A University of Michigan nationwide survey also sings
the praises of autonomy - reporting how the 15% of
Americans who claimed they felt "in control of their
lives" also raved about having "extraordinarily positive
feelings of happiness."
Source: American Psychological Association (APA) article, Money Can’t Buy Happiness / Psychology Today article, The No. 1 Contributor to Happiness

42. Learned Helplessness
• The concept of autonomy or lack there of reminds me of
the series of studies Seligman researched in the 60s, that
looked at the concept of Learned Helplessness.
• After research was done on dogs, Seilgman extended the
theory of learned helpless to humans. He however, began to
find exceptions to the theory, people who did not get
depressed, even after many bad life experiences. Seligman
discovered that a depressed person thought about the bad
event in more pessimistic ways than a non-depressed
person. He called this thinking, "explanatory style” and said
that there were two types - optimistic and pessimistic.
• So what does that have to do with autonomy you may ask?
Well, a person with a high level of autonomy tends to be
naturally resilient and optimistic - anything but helpless. She
will bounce back more easily from setbacks and will have
clear beliefs in her capabilities to find solutions and craft her
life in a way that feels good.
Source: www.noogenesis.com, Learned Helplessness

43. Source: www.eacademy.com, Empirical Research & Life Coaching

44. Life can feel amazing!
• Looking back on our trends, life could look a tad dim
on the happiness front. However, the life skill of
autonomy and optimism can be learned.
• Life Coaching has emerged on the scene in the last
decade as a powerful and effective way for people to
both achieve their goals and improve their quality of
life.
• A study done recently by Dr. Anthony Grant from
Sydney University explored the impact of life coaching
on goal attainment, metacognition and mental health.
• His results indicate that life coaching increased goal
attainment as well as significantly reducing 'the
participants' reported levels of depression, anxiety and
stress, with most reporting a significantly enhanced
quality of life'.
Source: www.eacademy.com, Empirical Research & Life Coaching

45. Source: International Coach Federation, Can Coaching Reduce the Incidence of Stress-Related Absenteeism?

46. • Sigrid Kjeldsen, Head Coach and Happiness Expert at
The Joyful Mother, also reported in her study in
2005 (in collaboration with the University of Life
Sciences in Oslo, Norway) of over 111 participants
that coaching had a positive impact in reducing self-
perceived stress levels.
Source: International Coach Federation, Can Coaching Reduce the Incidence of Stress-Related Absenteeism?

47. • Sigrid Kjeldsen, Head Coach and Happiness Expert at
The Joyful Mother, also reported in her study in
2005 (in collaboration with the University of Life
Sciences in Oslo, Norway) of over 111 participants
that coaching had a positive impact in reducing self-
perceived stress levels.
• Specifically, the project showed that coaching
reduced stress an average of 18% after a short
three-month period. Some of the participants
experienced a reduction as high as 47%.
Source: International Coach Federation, Can Coaching Reduce the Incidence of Stress-Related Absenteeism?

48. • Sigrid Kjeldsen, Head Coach and Happiness Expert at
The Joyful Mother, also reported in her study in
2005 (in collaboration with the University of Life
Sciences in Oslo, Norway) of over 111 participants
that coaching had a positive impact in reducing self-
perceived stress levels.
• Specifically, the project showed that coaching
reduced stress an average of 18% after a short
three-month period. Some of the participants
experienced a reduction as high as 47%.
• The coaching process teaches and strengthens the
autonomy muscle of each and every client.
Through the coaching process, self-reflection and
the powerful moment of insight (the a-ha moment)
fuels the clients awareness of self and nurtures her
ability to feel empowered over her own life!
Source: International Coach Federation, Can Coaching Reduce the Incidence of Stress-Related Absenteeism?

51. Do something different!
• “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting different results.” -
Albert Einstein
• All habits can be changed with practice and
repetition. But it takes work. Recent
research found that it can take anywhere
from 18 to 254 days to change a habit!
• The way we think is habitual too...and can
be changed!
Source: PsychBlog, How Long to Form a Habit

53. • Remember Dr. Seligman, our learned helplessness
guy? Well, he believes that our explanatory style,
the way we think and make sense of the world,
can be changed.
• In a recent study of depressed patients he found
that by using a technique that identifies and
corrects erroneous habits of thought*, he was
able to change the styles of the patients from
pessimistic to optimistic and that the change
persisted one year after.
• Dr. Edward E. Jones, a psychologist at Princeton
University expands on this and says: “Our
expectancies not only affect how we see reality
but also affect reality itself.”
Source: New York Times Research Affirms Power of Positive Thinking
*the technique was cognitive therapy, which is at the root of life coaching

54. The Joyful Mother

56. Inspiration
Each week The Joyful Mother’s Facebook page gets around 100 new followers
to add to the growing 15,600 plus Facebook community. The Joyful Mother
blog is read by around 500 or more people a day. To be inspirational is
important to Sigrid.
Inspiration often means the creation of a new idea or thought. By activating
new ideas through inspiration, Sigrid lights the fire of empowerment, insight and
love in mother’s hearts through her popular online presence.

58. What people are saying...
• “After completing the Mommy Meltdown Cure, I now feel that I have the keys to be the kind of mother and wife
I've admired for so long. Kind, patient, loving, funny, and most of all ... happy & joyful. Thank you so much, Sigrid. I
am sharing my learnings with other Moms in my life who I'm close to. You are changing the world, one Mommy at
a time. - E.H
• Working with Sigrid has opened a whole new world to me. She gave me the tools to change my constant negative
thinking and asked the right questions to bring out new awarenesses in me. I am really grateful for contacting her.
Meeting with Sigrid has definitely changed the way I deal with the things that life throws at me. Sigrid has taught
me I can bounce back much more easily from stress.That has made a huge impact on my everyday life and my
happiness. Sigrid herself is the living example of what she is teaching. I think I have never met another person with
so much positive energy. - B.G
• I could fill her entire blog up with all of the insights that I have acquired thanks to her guidance and wise words. I
no longer fight my day. I accept what the universe is putting before me and do my best to learn from the lessons
sent to me. I am a happier, more fulfilled and joyful person because the universe loved me enough to put her in my
path. She is a light and guides others with the glow she emanates. She has guided me to a place filled with trust,
acceptance, joy and love. And I am so glad that she is in the world helping others find the answers that they need in
order to live a more fulfilled, joyful life. - A.B
• Sigrid asked the essential questions that made me reevaluate my conventional wisdom. I was able to look at my
situation with fresh eyes.Thanks to her, I feel more like I can trust this exciting process called life! - B.S
• I have had a meditation practice for years and I am active with a local zen center.You bring it all full circle for me in
my life and as a parent. You are helping me to become the mommy I have always wanted to be. I am manifesting
my mommyhood!!!! - L.N

60. • You are a huge inspiration and a real role-model. Everyday you shower golden stars of wisdom and love down on the
entire planet. Something you said in one of your videos really inspired me! I had a huge a-ha moment when you said
you just decided to be happy, even though everything in your life was not as you wished it to be. So simple, so deep, so
genius.Thank you! -A.H
• Thank you for helping me change my life around. I can control my thoughts!! Who knew?!;-) Keep up the beautiful,
heartfelt work. I am a better mommy (and person) because of you!!!!!! Bless your sweet heart. -M.C
• With the lessons I have learned through the Mommy Meltdown Cure, I see that my priorities are becoming aligned
and I have found direction where I was lost and feeling hopeless. But in addition to that, I am taking even more
opportunities for quality time with my daughter and I am diffusing my husband's meltdowns and seeing more smiles
from him after a stressful day at work instead of both of us winding up to a shouting match and both of our days
ending on a bad note. I still have work to do - some of it is going to be hard work, but when it comes to happiness
the extra effort that I put into it will only mean that I see things get better and better.Thank you so much! - S.K
• Since starting the MMC program with Sigrid my whole perspective on mothering has dramatically changed. I used to
view everything I did as a demand, chore or task. Everything felt like I “had to” do it, not I wanted to do it. The
demands of mothering were taking over my identity and sucking out every last bit of joy. In my short time with
Sigrid, I have discovered that I didn’t want to be “that mother” anymore. I have found a new way to be with my
children on a whole new level, a very conscious level. And although it takes effort and constant reminders, it feels so
much better and more natural. My children are so easy to enjoy now and they respond much more positively to me.
Thank you Sigrid for everything you have taught me and for giving me the joy back that my family was longing for. -
H.E

62. Sigrid Kjeldsen, Head Coach and Happiness Expert at The
Joyful Mother has a Bachelor of Science degree in
Psychology and is a Certified Co-active Coach
(Internationally Certified ICF coach) with 10 years of
international experience coaching moms around the
world.

64. In addition to Sigrid’s professional credentials
and extensive experience, she is also a mother!
She has a 9 year old daughter and 4 year old son
and has been married to her husband happily for
10 years.
Sigrid’s passion for helping mothers define who
they are as individuals and claim their right for a
happy life stems from her own journey in life and
her desire to show up as the best version of her
both for herself and for her family.
You can hear more about her journey of self-
discovery and how she found real autonomy
over her life in this video.

67. "A truly joyful mother is not a perfect mother. A truly joyful mother is a constantly
evolving one. She celebrates what she does well, accepts the things she has
done less well, she learns from her mistakes, moves on to do better in the next
moment and understands that love and forgiveness has the power to heal both
herself and her family."
- The Joyful Mother
The Joyful Mother is committed to helping you take your
next step in gaining true Mommy Mastery over your life.
Sigrid has created two powerful learning opportunities to
support committed mothers on their quest for joyful lives.
Both are inspirational and practical and will leave you with
the tools you need to create habits that fuel a life of
autonomy and joy:

69. The Joyful Mother’s Club
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A Step-by-Step 24 week Training Program
Learn To Live Your Life By Your Own Design!
Learn the practical skills you need to define who you are based
on your own standards and learn to live as the very best
version of YOU as a mother, a career person, in your
relationships and with yourself!
Every 2 weeks for 1 year, you will receive in your inbox:
✓One powerful lesson delivered to you in pdf and audio
format. Each lesson is purposefully brief (but thorough!) so you
can read it quickly and put it into practice.
✓An easy to implement assignment to help you
practically translate the learning from the lesson into your day
to day life!
✓One short inspirational video to give you some
additional pointers and guidance for each lesson.
✓Plus much more
To find out more about the JMC and to sign up go here --> The
Joyful Mother Club

70. Note: This is not to be mistaken with the the INTENSIVE Mommy Meltdown Cure that The Joyful Mother offers a couple times a year including one on one coaching with Sigrid.

71. Mommy Meltdown Cure
Personal Power Toolbox in Just 6 Minutes a Day
A 8-Week Self-Study Coaching Program Teaching
You Tools You Can Use in 6 Minutes a Day To
Begin Living as a Calm, Loving and In-Control,
Masterful Mother!
In this 8-week home study coaching program, Sigrid will give
you the practical tools you need to take control of your life and
be PROUD of yourself as a mother. And all it takes is just SIX
MINUTES A DAY!
The Mommy Meltdown Cure Home Study Program
to provide you with your very own PERSONAL
POWER TOOLBOX and includes:
✓8 video lessons (with pdf and audio option)
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✓Access to a virtual support group (Mom Spot)
✓BONUS: Two months free of The Joyful Mother Club (a
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To find out more about the MMC and to sign up here -->
Mommy Meltdown Cure
Note: This is not to be mistaken with the the INTENSIVE Mommy Meltdown Cure that The Joyful Mother offers a couple times a year including one on one coaching with Sigrid.

72. Quote: Frank Banks

73. Quote: Frank Banks

75. Thank you for watching!
If you have any questions at all about The Joyful Mother,
Sigrid, her programs or even the research, please don’t
hesitate to connect.You can reach her at
sigrid@thejoyfulmother.com or use the contact info below!