The other day I was talking with another single parent and she said “I’d do something different if I could, but I just have no other options!” Of course, it is seldom the case that we only have one option—BUT, I think that as single parents we can get to a place where we feel as though our options are so limited we really have run out of choices. Perhaps this is just a single parent’s version of “can’t see the forest for the trees” but I do think that we can give ourselves a break by recognizing that we do have options—we just have to open ourselves up to see them.
I like to remind myself that there is ALWAYS another option. I might not be able to see it, I might be so downtrodden and frustrated that I just want the situation to be over with, but there really is more than one way to solve a problem or approach life. Usually, once I remind myself that, and tell myself to try to open up to other possibilities, I will begin to see that there are other options all around me.
As single parents, it can be easy to get to a place where we feel like our options have been diminished (maybe they actually have)—we might think that since we are a working single parent we cannot possible go to school, or make a move, or take on a new project—but very likely we can, we just have to recognize the options around us and problem solve create ways to get to them. If you really cannot “get out of your own way”—get an outsider’s opinion. Brainstorm your situation with a support group, good friend, or family member and ask them to help you see what other options are available. Sometimes it just takes a fresh approach and perspective to help us recognize that we have more options that we imagined!
Also: Trust Yourself
When You Don’t Know What to Do…Wait
Be On the Lookout for Distractions