It is common to look at mistakes and failures and try to mine the lessons that we are meant to learn. I would like to propose that we can not only learn from our mistakes, but we can learn from our successes too. In order to be aware and look at the ways we can continue to make improvements as single parents, let us look at the things we do well and the things that GO well in our lives, and see what lessons can be learned from those!
Of course we know to explore our mistakes and figure out what went wrong. Most single parents I know are quite good at this as a matter of fact. We get very determined that we are not going to make the same mistakes again and do whatever we can to keep that from happening. Meanwhile, we might be doing other things extremely well and taking that for granted. Often there are some very valuable lessons that can be learned from our successes.
As you think about what is going well in your life or the things that you have been good at—what does it tell you about yourself? What have you learned about survival, creativity, problem-solving or tenacity from the areas of your life where you have been accomplished or successful? How can you apply what worked well in one area to another area where you might still be struggling?
Awareness about our skills, talents and capabilities can be extremely valuable. It can also save us a great deal of time if we know how to play up our strengths. Additionally, I have to stress that focusing on what has gone well and what is successful in one’s life feels so much better than digging around in those mistakes and mishaps!