Note: This post has been updated and was first published on October 4, 2017. I once looked after a friend’s two boys for a day. We headed out to the garden to throw out the compost and cover it up with a spade. I gave them a small spade because they were only 3 and 6 at the time. They handled the spade like pro’s and said, “We use a bigger spade than this at home.” I was impressed… The Bible says, “It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth…
As you know, I’m all about minimising stress, chaos, and overwhelm for busy moms. And today I want to talk about why it’s important to keep our homes tidy and clean, as well as how to do it. My own personal experience was that when I began to tidy up the mess and get on top of my cleaning, I noticed a significant improvement in my mental health, as well as my ability to be calm and less reactionary with my kids (mind blown moment). I also noticed that I was more sensitive to God’s voice speaking…
We all have times where we just don’t feel like doing something. In that moment you can choose to go with the flow and not do said thing, or you can exercise self-discipline and do it. We all know what we should be doing, but we don’t always have the self-discipline to actually do it. What is self-discipline? Self-discipline is the ability to push yourself forward, stay motivated, and take action, regardless of how you’re feeling physically or emotionally. It’s aligning your actions with your thoughts and goals, even when…
Do you feel mentally and emotionally well? Is your life meaningful and fulfilling? Do you experience joy? Mental health and emotional health are two concepts that are often used interchangeably. Both involve how we think and feel. For the sake of keeping things simple, I’m going to deal with these two concepts together. What does it mean to be mentally & emotionally healthy? A person who is emotionally and mentally healthy In summary, mental and emotional health is the overall wellness of how you think, regulate your feelings, and how you behave and relate to others as a result…
Recently someone asked me a question that I had to stop and think about: “When did you first become self-aware?” After some thought, I realised it was only in my early 30’s. That means that up until then I was living by instinct, not knowing why I did what I did, not understanding myself, my thoughts, feelings, and motives. I just lived. And because I wasn’t self-aware, I couldn’t grow because I didn’t understand myself. I didn’t know where my weaknesses lay, hadn’t identified areas that need attention, and hadn’t figured…
If you’re a mom you have definitely experienced stress. You’re juggling so many things, and on top of it all you wonder whether you’re doing enough for your kids. You’re never going to get rid of everything that stresses, so the next best thing is to learn how to deal with it so that it doesn’t damage your physical and mental health. What is stress? Stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed by life, or feeling unable to cope with the pressures and responsibilities of your life. It can be caused by normal life…
Note: this post first appeared in 2020, but has been updated. Do you keep losing it with your kids? Are your frustration and irritation levels through the roof? Are you horribly impatient? If you answered yes to any of these, welcome to my party! Feeling irritated, frustrated, and impatient with my kids was the story of my life until I figured out that the problem wasn’t so much my children as it was *me*. What I didn’t realise was that most of the time my kids were reacting to my mood, attitude, and treatment of them. When I…
Do you struggle with being an angry mom? We all get angry and yell at our kids at times, but if this is a consistent problem for you, then it’s time to examine why you’re an angry mom, and learn how to stop being one. How do you get out of the negative cycle of being angry, yelling at your kids, feeling guilty, apologising – rinse and repeat? Reasons you’re an angry mom Before we talk about how to stop being an angry mom, let’s look at the reasons why you’re getting angry. Frustration because…
Everyone wants to be happy. To feel good about life, themselves, their relationships. But, we often make the mistake of waiting for circumstances to change so that we can be happy. The truth is that your attitude is what determines happiness and if you’re on a never-ending pursuit of happiness, you may never find it because it’s not something that’s tangible. It’s more a state of mind. Having said that, there are ways to improve your mood other than just a change of attitude – and you can do this by boosting the right hormones…