The Mental Strength of Self-Employed Mums

Self-Employed Mums are mentally tough, they are filled with grit and perseverance, and they are so capable and smash goals and targets and whatever gets in their way BUT so many still do not realise how strong they are. How do I know this? I've just done my research for MSc in Applied Positive Psychology to find out!

This blog post is to highlight to you that you are so much stronger than you think you are, I know a cliche, but also a few little questions on how to support yourself further.

Self-employed mums do not often:

1 Know how strong they are

Coping with creating flexibility to work around your children pretty much takes away any flexibility with tight windows to get things done. Setting up your business shows your strength, your organisation and your determination. Take this moment to realise how strong you really are.

2 Realise how efficient they have become

Generally, people are prone to procrastination but given self-employed mums time constraints you rarely get that as a luxury! What you might not appreciate is how efficient you have become. Think about how much you get done in comparison to the pre-child you and congratulate yourself for that.

3 Notice their motivation to succeed

Having a strong motivation to succeed, often driven by the desire to be available for your children or for them financially can give you that extra determination. Have you ever written down or considered why you do what you do? Is it multi-facetted? Being clear on why can support you to push on further.

If you can regularly remind yourself why you do what you do it will support your mental health on the more challenging of days.  Furthermore, if you can immerse yourself in moments of joy linked to those reasons you will be creating a buffer that can act as a protective factor for stressful times. What do I mean by this? Well, if your children are your motivation then spending some quality moments (even just a 10 minute or 5 minute burst) will really support your wellbeing. In my house this could mean something as simple as popping on a song that the kids enjoy and dancing and singing loudly together, then I head back into my study and bash out a blog (this is said blog after said boogie sing song). Make a version of this that suits you and see how it boosts you all. An extra benefit is that can ease any guilt you may be harbouring for spending so much time working away at your desk. 

So, my suggestion to you to support your wellbeing:

*Remind yourself why you do what you do

*Notice how good you are at doing it (ignore the bad bits for a minute, we all have those too!)

*Create moments of joy with your mini humans to boost and protect your wellbeing and to stave off any guilt

REPEAT regularly.

Katie – I live for pockets of happiness!

If you found any of this useful you can find more tips over on my Instagram page @dailysavouring

 

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