I love spring in the UK. Growing up in Canada, I was always a bit confused by Easter picture books that showed children playing in green fields covered in daffodils. Then I moved to Scotland and realised that this is where those images come from.
Growing up in Canada, there was often snow on the ground at Easter and we had to really look for the subtle signs of spring. Things like flowers starting to peek out through the snow. This makes me think of those glimpses of light in those dark times of parenting. I’m thinking about those little moments of hope when we’re struggling with our mental health, feeling exhausted while sleep is nowhere in sight, or our wee ones are re-enacting scenes from Gremlins. It might be that our little one gives us a glorious smile, someone does something nice for us or something makes us laugh out loud.
On the other hand, spring in the UK can be glorious. I’m talking about those days when the sun is shining, it’s mild out and the flowers are in bloom. And maybe there are ducks meandering about – I’m remembering a particularly stunning Easter weekend when I visited a park in London during my first year of living here. This version of spring reminds me of what it is like when we feel confident and aligned with our decisions as parents.
This month’s offer and musings are geared towards helping you grow this beautiful spring picture in your life. Whatever this picture might look like for you.
To help build the foundations for feeling confident, I’m extending my Spring offer through Knotstressed on the Overcoming Overwhelm Transformational Coaching Package which is for everyone!
I also talk about building our confidence in our decisions (and ensuring our decisions reflect what we really want) in this month’s post about childcare.
And, finally, I offer a few top tips on growing your confidence this spring.
April Offer – £50 off the Overcoming Overwhelm Transformational Coaching Package
When we’re feeling overwhelmed, it can be hard to feel confident. It can also be hard to make decisions and build the life we want.
This is why I’m extending my Spring offer of £50 off the Overcoming Overwhelm Coaching Package at Knotstressed to you. I’m excited to join their team and share my introductory offer with you too!
While this package is not specifically for pregnant or new parents, it can be great if you’re feeling overwhelmed during these times in your life. And it can help us feel more in control of our experiences and choices around pregnancy and early parenting.
For more information, email me at amanda@youhavegotthis.co.uk or send me a message on Facebook or Instagram.
Making decisions and coping when your baby goes to nursery (or a childminder or family member)
Photo courtesy of First Class Childcare: https://firstclasschildcare.co.uk
Making decisions about childcare and coping with this transition can be really difficult. It can be important for us to tune in to what we really want or need. And coaching can be beneficial at this time as it helps us to get clear about what’s right for us. Coaching can also help us to shift our focus or perspective to help us cope with the emotions this change can bring up. I talk more about this change and my journey with nursery in this month’s post on Making decisions and coping when your baby goes to nursery (or a childminder or family member).
Growing your confidence
No one is confident 100% of the time. This is what makes us human.
But there are times when our confidence takes a knock. Traumatic or distressing experiences on our parenting journey are events that can affect our confidence. At times when our confidence is low, we may need to support ourselves to rebuild our confidence.
With spring flowers blooming, April feels like a great time to plant the seeds that will support us to be confident in ourselves and our parenting.
Here are a few steps you can take to help build your confidence by doing something that you feel nervous or anxious about.
Think about all of the evidence that you have that you can do the thing you’re worried about. Maybe you’ve done it in the past or you’ve done other things that show that you are capable of doing something new.
Think about why it is important for you to achieve what you’re aiming for.
If you’re feeling nervous or anxious, make a plan. What are you going to do? When are you going to do it? What support is available to you? How can you support yourself?
Do the thing. This is the most important step as our nerves and anxiety will keep popping up until we’ve actually given it a go.
Reflect on how it went. Celebrate your successes and what went well. If it didn’t go as planned, focus on what you learned and what did go well (there will be something).
Do it or try it again. Or try something else. Keep sending a message to yourself that you are capable. Follow the steps above if needed.
If you feel that you need some support to build your confidence, please get in touch to talk about how I can support you. Sometimes, we believe things about ourselves or tell stories about other people or situations that make it more challenging for us to do the things we want. Coaching is a great tool for helping us to challenge these beliefs and stories and take action.
I offer the Building Your Confidence package as well as bespoke packages and individual coaching sessions.
If you feel that your emotions related to a distressing or traumatic experience on your parenting journey is affecting your confidence, I also offer the TBR 3 Step Rewind technique. Helping to lift any heavy emotions and reframe how we see ourselves in relation to our experience can also help to build confidence.
You can contact me by email at amanda@youhavegotthis.co.uk or send me a message on Facebook or Instagram.
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