Recently I’ve been reading parenting and discipline books. The Montessori Toddler, No-Drama Discipline, Call of the Wild + Free, and How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk. I read them, originally, with the intention of improving my own parenting of my kids.
But these books have caused me to reflect on my own upbringing in a challenging but good way. They have made me rethink a lot of the beliefs and values that I learned growing up, that I now recognize to be quite self-limiting.
Limiting in the sense that they lead me to accomplish less on paper, but also that they interfere with my enjoyment of daily life. They prevent me from enjoying the little things that are so crucial to not just surviving, but living well.
And I know this sounds so woo-woo and new-age, but hear me out: having positive affirmations that I write down, read, re-read and even say out loud on a regular basis has been an important part of that rethinking and relearning.
I mean… if my educated and articulate therapist thinks so, it’s got some truth to it, right?
Today I’m going to share some of those positive affirmations for moms, that are especially relevant to SAHMs (and many of them to moms in general, too–stay-at-home, work-from-home, anyone). Because we can all use a confidence boost sometimes!
(If you like these, I’ve made a printable below the post that you can download and print out for yourself.)
Positive Affirmations for Moms
- I am making the right choice for our family by staying at home with our kids.
- I am the best mom for my children.
- I don’t have a salary AND I am doing valuable full-time work for our family.
- I am a talented, kind, perceptive, deep person regardless of what’s on my resume or not.
- I am a beautiful, worthy, feminine woman (yes, I’m looking at you, mama in a spit-up shirt and sweatpants who hasn’t showered in a few days!).
- Spending time on my appearance is important for my mental health, therefore it is worthwhile.
- I am a skilled homemaker regardless of the current state of my home. The presence of love and laughter in a home is more important than immaculate cleanliness.
- I am capable of setting a positive tone in our home and family.
- I can turn a bad day around at any point in time by changing my attitude.
- I deserve nice, functional things within our budget.
- I am a person outside of motherhood who requires love and care to fill my cup.
The Power of Affirmations
It’s a fairly simple list, but reading and repeating these statements to myself has been very helpful. They’re not necessarily things I believe right now, but things I know are true (or possible) and that I want to believe.
It was definitely a lightbulb moment for me when I said to my therapist: I wish somebody would tell me these things. They’re exactly what I need to hear.
She said, You need to work on telling them to yourself.
And I said, But they don’t count if they’re coming from me… oh, that’s the problem, isn’t it?
And she said, That’s the problem, because ultimately they only count if they’re coming from you.
Touche, therapist. That’s why I’m reading all of my parenting books to begin with… to raise kids who don’t depend on external validation for their sense of self and the decisions they make.
So there’s my thought for the day, and a list of affirmations for moms to boost you up!
xx
