One BAM Digest #2, July 2018

Here is this week's installment of the One BAM Digest, a random assortment of things I've been reading, using, liking, thinking about, etc.

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I’m going to respectfully decline…
Author Lauren Groff won the week when she declined to answer the ubiquitous “work-life balance” question from a reporter by calling out the double standard that men are rarely, if ever, asked the same question. As one Twitter commenter also mentioned in this article, I’ve never read anything by Lauren Groff, but her response to this question makes me want to.

Take that, working mom guilt!
A Harvard study has found that children of working moms turn out to be just as happy as kids of stay-at-home moms. In fact, back in 2015, preliminary results of this study showed that daughters of working moms are more likely to be employed, hold supervisor roles and earn more than daughters of stay-at-home moms. Harvard Business School Professor Kathleen McGinn underscored the findings by saying, “People still have this belief that when moms are employed, it’s somehow detrimental to their children. So our finding that maternal employment doesn’t affect kids’ happiness in adulthood is really important.” Amen to that. 

How to create more joy
I loved this Ted Talk by Ingrid Fetell Lee. In her talk, Lee reveals the tangible roots of joy in our physical world and how we can all find - and create - more of it in the world around us.

This resonated deeply with me as I've been super focused on cleaning house and noticing how my physical space directly impacts my emotional state. This talk challenged me to consider how I can create moments of joy even within my own apartment. 

Or maybe I just need more sprinkles...

Lee found that bright colors, round shapes (and sprinkles) all have the ability to create moments of joy. Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

New stat
The share of working mothers in Japan has topped 70% for the first time…

On Serena losing at Wimbledon
I loved this piece in Forbes about how Serena handled her loss in the Wimbledon finals. We too often see the end result of success, not the blood, sweat, tears and failures that go into it. Serena’s loss reminds us that we have to “go out and fail in order to win. Whether you are an athlete, an entrepreneur or a new mother - do not be afraid to fall down while figuring out this thing called life.”