I wrestled with how to title this blog—I want to write about how we can be our own worst enemies when it comes to recovering from a challenging time and achieving happiness and peace with our role as a single parent. I really do believe that we can hold ourselves back either by clinging to an identity as a victim or just letting our ego maintain a hold on us. At some point, it might be time to let go and get out of our way!
I do not want to sound mean, and I am actually trying to inject a bit of good-natured rib-poking here. After all, sometimes we don’t realize that we are being our own worst enemies. We actually GET something from feeling the “poor me” and holding on to our role as the wronged on, or the over-worked single parent, or whatever identity we might have claimed for ourselves. It can be hard to let that go and welcome a new, more normalized version of ourselves into our own imagination. It can be tough to accept that we are definitely not the only ones who have had a hard time and there are zillions of single parents out there who are caring for and building families just like we are. It might just be time to get over ourselves and welcome a new day where we are part of the flow of things, not an outsider!
There is a time for fighting the good fight, a time for recovery and licking our own wounds, and there is definitely a time for letting these things go to make room for something else. Our egos can be our downfall if we cling to antiquated ideas of ourselves and our lives. Chances are whenever we are feeling put upon, victimized, or as if we have it harder than anyone else we know—our egos are making a mess of things. There comes a time when we have to get over that version of ourselves so that we can be the best single parent possible!
Also: Getting Through Those Times When Parenting is NOT Emotionally Rewarding
Creating a Positive Home Environment
Can You Look at Things Objectively Yet?