Conscious Parenting: How to Focus on You

Posted on Feb 7, 2016 | 1 comment

conscious-parenting-how-to-focus-on-you

Most parents will tell you how happy they are and that their children are their world. Many parents will go to amazing lengths to make their children happy, often totally overlooking themselves.

In the beginning, I was one of those. Having Irish Twins challenged me in a whole new way and for a couple of years there, I lost myself in them. Between diapers, making my own baby food, tidying the house, arranging playdates and the such there was never any time to focus on myself. Honestly, I never thought about myself at all.

Until one very frustrating day – you know the kind. When everything came down on me. I realized on this day that life is a series of choices. That how each day went was up to me to decide. I remembered that happiness is a choice.

Right then and there, I decided to drop the everything is perfect act, accept that there were a LOT of things no one ever told me about being a Mama and opted to start making better choices for all of us.

And guess what? Everyone was happier!!!!

Curious as to what I started choosing?

Here are 7 Ways How to Focus on You

Go easy on yourself, reconsider your priorities. The main job of a parent is to keep their child alive, fed, dressed and safe. Once you realize this and stop holding yourself to an unrealistic standard, and understand that it is OK to be tired, frustrated, even angry – a huge pressure will come off of your shoulders. Try making a list of what is important to you. Then think about the choices that you have been making, are they supporting your priorities?
Take 5 Parent minutes every day, more if you can!! Earlier on, about 5 minutes was all I could grab, but boy did it make me feel better to just sit still for 5 minutes to meditate. This one thing really helped me to regain my calm, and be a better parent and wife. Now that my kids are a bit older, I try to make more time daily for this.
Ask for help. It is totally ok to reach out and ask for help, from your mate, your family or your friends. No one expects you to go this alone so let them help you!!! This was something that was hard for me because I did feel that I had to do it all. But the fact of the matter is that I can’t. Trying only made me miserable and invisible. So I reached out for my hubby and informed him his ‘vaca’ was over!! We split up some of the responsibilities of parenthood, which in turn strengthened our marriage. Some of the daily pressure was taken off of me and he felt more involved – a real win/win!!
Get enough sleep. Science is only just now starting to understand how important sleep is for us, but it is essential. So if you have a pile of laundry and vacuuming to do, but only have a short window while your child naps, go ahead and that a nap! Getting enough sleep will give the enough body mind power and you will feel just that much better.
Be your own cheerleader. I know, sounds weird right?! But your kids will never tell you that you are doing a great job or encourage you along. So I started encouraging myself. Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are a good parent and doing a great job as often as you need do.
Appreciate. This can be hard in the moment, but it is one of the most valuable things I have learned to do. When I am about to blow about whatever, I stop myself and quickly make myself come up with 10 things that I am truly grateful for in that moment. Then I try to focus on that and suddenly I have had an attitude adjustment for the better!
Eat as much fresh, local and organic food as you can! Just like a car, our bodies will not function well if you are not eating right. So try to be conscious of what you are eating not just on what your kids are eating!