Tag Archives: confidence

We Can’t Be Good at Everything

You might think from some of the articles I have written that I think the average single parent has to be a super-star—super good at everything and on top of all the chaos that comes with family life. Not so. In fact, I think we can get into trouble trying to be everything to everyone and expecting ourselves to be fabulously amazing at everything. PLUS, I think it can send the wrong message to our children. I know that single parenthood seems to call upon us to be better at more things than we ever had to before. We might … Continue reading →

Who Do Your Skills and Talents Belong To?

Starting a home business or “going solo” as an entrepreneur requires a shift in thinking. Most of us are conditioned to think of work as something we do for someone else in order to get money. Our motivation comes in terms of compensation. When we go to job interviews or sit through those painful “evaluations” with someone from Human Resources, we are expected to talk about what skills and talents we bring to the table for the better of the company. Working in a home based business requires that we learn how to take ownership of our skills and talents … Continue reading →

Does Your Business Self-Esteem Need a Boost?

Have you been in a lull lately? Have you been dealing with more than your share of set-backs, challenges and bloopers? There are those times when working at a home business can be so challenging and we struggle at things so much that our self-esteem takes a bit of a blow. Without a few successes or “great days” it can be hard to hold out hope. But, what can we do when our business person self-esteem needs a bit of a boost? It can be incredibly hard to keep one’s chin up through an extended rough patch. Not to mention, … Continue reading →

What to do When They Put Themselves Down

We try to talk positively to our kids, or at least many of us parents know that we should be using kind and caring words and positive encouragement. It can be incredibly painful and disheartening then, when we hear them putting themselves down. Hearing a child refer to herself as “stupid” or “ugly” or talk about what a “loser” he is certainly can be upsetting. But, what can we parents do to nip the negativity in the bud and address the possible self-esteem issues? You might need to start by taking a good hard look at your own habits to … Continue reading →

Try to Instill Confidence

Even after years of what I consider “successful” single parenting, I am dismayed to report that my children still occasionally worry. I am not sure where it comes from since I have always taken care of them and they have never really wanted for any of the basics. I think they are old enough now to be starting to realize what it takes to hold things together and they occasionally will say things like “We’re doing alright, right mom?” It always catches me off guard since I have done everything in my power to portray an air of strength and … Continue reading →

Can a Single Parent Be TOO Strong?

One of the comments I get regularly from people—new people I meet and those who are already in my life is that I must be “strong.” This has never set completely comfortably with me—not because I cannot take a supposed compliment—but more because I know how “not strong” I often feel and I also fear that many of these people might be assuming that I am so strong as to not need help or compassion. I assume that I am sending off such a strong competency “vibe” that people never bother to assume I might need a little help… I … Continue reading →

Dealing with the “Not Enough” Feelings

As single parents, many of us feel stretched and pulled in a thousand directions. Most of us really do want to be all that we can be and this means a great parent, a good friend or romantic partner, a solid and valued worker or employee, a positive citizen, etc. Unfortunately, many of us also wrestle with feelings constantly that we are “not enough”; that we will somehow never measure up to the expectations of others or ever be adequate enough to receive approval, love, acceptance, etc. As most of you know, I am not a psychologist or therapist or … Continue reading →

Working Through the Fear Response

Although I would LOVE to learn how to live a life void of fear, I have been working on ways to work through those habitual and seemingly in-grained initial fear responses. Whether it is a new work idea, something that comes up with my kids, or other typical life event, sometimes my first response is to feel nervous and fearful. As single parents, we can learn how to push past those initial fear responses that might be holding us back from making significant changes. I was recently asked to submit a full propose for a substantial freelance job in a … Continue reading →

Single and Sad? Or Single and Sassy?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I think that how we see ourselves and how we feel about ourselves can have a huge bearing on how others see us. As single parents, we can send out the message that we are sad, lonely and struggling—or we can let people know that we are happy, secure and feeling great about our lives. I know that even the most optimistic person does NOT always feel sassy. We all have our bad days and those times when we are full of doubts and wondering how on earth we ever got … Continue reading →

Allowing Things to Be “Normal”

Sometimes I think the only thing that separates what is “normal” from what is not, is our own personal belief systems around things. I don’t mean to sound like an anthropologist here, but as single parents, we may be holding up the “normalization” of our single parent families with our own belief systems. Maybe if we let go of antiquated ideas or trying to fit into a perfect “Brady Bunch” mold, we can allow our families and our lives to be more normal. Who decides what is normal and what is not? Well, we can blame “society” or the “media” … Continue reading →