Healthy Working Homeschool Mom – Self-Doubt

Self Doubt. It’s something that sneaks into our thoughts, dreams, and lives at an unbelievable rate. I’m pretty sure we all know it can take us by complete surprise. It tends to make a lasting impression, ruining our intentions and maybe even our futures. When it comes to being a working homeschool mom, self-doubt can end a homeschool life before it has even truly taken off. I hope with this post you will find the courage to knock worthless insecurities out of this world, turning your back on the lies that attempt to trick you out of the good life.

Do you work and homeschool?  Check out our working homeschool moms resource page that contains more articles about how to balance homeschooling and working.

The anxiety that comes with self-doubt starts with a quiet voice that seeps into the conscience and says things like, “You can’t do this homeschool thing! Are you insane?!” Or, “You will never succeed. You will only ruin your kids and your life.” I’m sure there are a million other lies we hear and, sadly, believe.

Self-doubt can even spawn from a careless and unintentionally rude comment originating from an unexpected source like family, friends, or even a complete stranger. I’ve never figured out why these people feel the need to rain on our parade, but for some reason these comments will never be in short supply. I assume fear of the unknown and also a fear of not following the crowd are the big reasons why others feel the need to stomp on our hopes and dreams time after time.

Fear doesn’t just emanate from those around us; it also is something self-invented. It is scary to become a working homeschool mom! But feeling scared…or worried….or even anxious can disable us and allow for that self-doubt to take hold. It will either cause us to be ineffective, or we will just give up. We can’t allow that to happen if we ever want to succeed on this homeschool path.

Originally, there was that one moment when a thought popped into each of our minds–the thought that homeschooling sounded appealing.  Something about homeschooling sounded right. We knew right away that it was a potential option. When I experienced this feeling, I couldn’t explain it, but I felt like it was where I needed to go. My days were spent researching and day dreaming about what life would be like as a homeschooler. I was excited and nervous at the same time about the possibility of actually taking that leap of faith.

Unfortunately, the first time I tried homeschooling, I let self-doubt get the better of me, and I gave up. I allowed it to ruin my homeschool adventure 5 weeks after it started. Thankfully, God never let me forget those original wishes I had for homeschooling.

With my second time around, I’ve had to become an expert at saying no to self-doubt. I’ve had to turn away from fear…even when it’s hard. I’ve had to accept that some people will never understand. I’ve also had to change my expectations. Thankfully, I don’t really care what others think. Personally, I’m okay with being different. And the unknown sounds like an adventure! A crazy, insane adventure…but, still an adventure.

What does this have to do with being a healthy working homeschool mom?

Well, to put it simply, self-doubt can destroy one’s mind, body, heart, and soul. It will totally mess up relationships too. It is like a cascading waterfall that builds and builds off of other parts of our lives until we are one heap of a mess drowning in what ever we have let get to us.

In order to be successful as a working homeschool mom, avoiding self-doubt is THE quintessential task we must routinely do. Seriously. This is a big deal.

How do we avoid self-doubt? Start with these suggestions….

• Shut out thoughts of self-doubt immediately. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! Just do it. 😉 Is working and homeschooling a risk? Yes. But is it worth the risk? That’s an undeniably HUGE yes. I loved the encouragement I got out of this post from The Natural Homeschooler. Tanya reminds us that our goal is so much bigger than ourselves or this day or even this year. Without risk, we will never build our legacies. It’s okay to think things through and plan, but don’t let that turn into you questioning whether or not you can even homeschool. If God put the thought in your head, I know you can do it.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34 ESV

• Avoid others – or at least avoid conversation with others – that you know will have negative input about the idea of homeschool. Just don’t do it. Self-doubt seeds grow super fast. Don’t water those things or they will definitely suck all your positive momentum up.

• Seek those who feel the same as you. That means you will need to venture out and meet other homeschoolers. No one understands a homeschooler like another homeschooler. You get brownie points if you find one that works too! Trust me, they are out there!

• Own your decision to homeschool. Let your courage grow inside you. Take charge of it.

• Trust that God has got your back because He does.

 For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:13 ESV

• And most importantly PRAY. In my experience, and from what I’ve read in the Bible, it always seems the stories where the most good develops are those in which the person called by God felt completely incapable of following God’s instructions.  Each person had to completely depend on and trust in the Lord. God never failed a single one of them. So don’t worry. Pray instead.

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

From one working homeschool mom to another, I truly want you to succeed. I know you can. There are so many out there who do this and do it well!  Just say no to self-doubt! Squash it like an ant! 😉

Do you work and homeschool?  Check out our working homeschool moms resource page that contains more articles about how to balance homeschooling and working.

Have you suffered from self-doubt? How did it make you feel? Have you overcome it? If so, how?