There is no denying the heaviness many around the world are feeling.

And through the heaviness, many of us can fall into a pattern of various negative thinking habits, traps that stop us from viewing things accurately and in a way that can help us grow and cultivate resilience, and most importantly in these times, create positive change.

What are thinking traps and why are they important?

…..

As a self-proclaimed control freak, I feel like I know a thing or two about control. It’s something I am continually working on because it’ll show up in many different areas of life that don’t particularly serve me. On the flip side, I believe it is a driving force for much of the success I’ve experienced as an entrepreneur with a couple of businesses under my belt. It’s about balance. It’s also about focusing on the things you can control. Because there is so much in this world we can’t, and never will be able to control. And with motherhood, oh my, so much is out of our control. From our “ideal” pregnancy or birth story, to the temperaments of our children, to the actions of our partners…. so on, and so on. And while we can’t control what others are doing (children, partners, colleagues, friends, the strangers you cross paths with on the street), you can control parts of you.

Close your eyes and imagine something that you want to be true. Imagine something you want to happen. Imagine an ideal situation. What is happening? What are you doing? Who is around you? How do you feel? How do you look?What do you see, smell, hear and taste? Take a moment to think in-depth about this, and bring in those feelings. Now take a couple more moments to think about how you got there. What action steps led you to that point? What effort did you put in? What changes, if any, did you make? Who or what supported you along the way?

Before you continue reading, sit with this imagery.

My mission with Feel Good MamaHood is supporting you on being more intentional with your happiness and wellbeing, focusing on the areas of your life where you do have control. Because as you see, “40% of our life satisfaction is attributed to intentional actions.” (Lyubomirksy, Sheldon & Schkade, 2005) and this is a massive part of happiness and wellbeing. Additional research shows that 40% of the actions we take are because of habits, rather than actual decisions (Neal et al 2006). So, how intentional are you being with your actions and how intentional are you being with your habits? In honor of Mother’s Day this week, and Maternal Mental Health Week, I have been sharing offerings and giveaways for some of my events, classes, programs and resources, all of which were created with Mama’s wellbeing in mind. But how will these benefit you? How do these offerings support your wellbeing? Let me share a bit about each…

I’ve seen and read a lot of things about modern motherhood being more challenging than ever. And I agree with this seeing as we have more information, more resources and just more at our fingertips with the Internet and technology. While at the same time our daily societal structure has shifted over the years. We have much more information and resources, but a lot less support in applying it, understanding it and learning with it.

And while it seems the opposite would be true, there seems to be this expectation of needing to do it alone

As social creatures, we are not meant to be alone.

And this is one of the most important contributing factors that I feel affects the modern day mama.

But that's not all.

Journaling can be anything from jotting down a few sentences that come to your mind, to expressively describing your current state (thoughts and emotions), to story telling, and beyond.

While, of course, there is no right or wrong way to do it, I am excited to share some sexy science about how writing and journaling can support our overall wellbeing. And you know that I am all about improving wellbeing!

We’re all going to face challenging times, and now is a great example of how the unexpected can happen real quick and drastically change a lot. We’re going to get knocked down, we’ll experience failure, and we’ll most likely come face-to-face with something that just makes us want to throw up our hands and give up. And while I believe some things are meant to let go of and walk away from, other things are meant to be taken head on, despite the difficulty. Many things are meant to challenge us and push us to new limits, to teach us. But how do we know when to walk away? … or to push back even harder?

Times are tough right now and like nothing we’ve ever seen or experienced. We’ve all been forced into situations that many of us wouldn’t be in given the choice. And many are forced to take on new roles, ones that may not highlight greatest strengths or that require skills that haven’t been given adequate time to build. And while it doesn’t feel like it in the thick of challenge and the middle of a dark, long tunnel - there is hope, and that hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. There are ways to cope during these crises, and you can thrive.