Being a confident mom involves having trust in one's abilities as a parent, a positive attitude, and being able to handle challenges and uncertainty with grace. It also involves being able to set boundaries, communicate effectively, and make decisions that are in the best interest of the child. It is a process that takes time. New moms especially can gain confidence if they recognize internal issues along with just learning to be a mom.
To gain confidence as a mom you may need to seek support and resources when needed, and not be afraid to ask for help. It is important to remember that being a confident mom doesn't mean being perfect, it means being comfortable in one's role as a parent, and having the ability to adapt and grow as a parent
- The first thing to understand about having a lack of self-confidence is to understand the root of the issue.
- The Lack of Self Esteem is the root of the lack of self-confidence.
- A tree does not flourish if its roots are unhealthy.
5 Signs of Low Self Esteem in Women
- Changing yourself to please others
- Second guessing yourself
- Self- Limiting beliefs
- Feeling Inferior
- Overthinking other people's comments
Find out if you are feeling incompetent as a mom; start by checking your self-esteem levels by reading what experts say. You may need to seek a mental health professional in your area or even try medication before you can gain confidence as a mom.
Low Confidence and Mental Health
While there are situational experiences that cause low self-esteem, it is common for low confidence and mental health issues to co-exist. It is important to address the mental health issue first, then focus on improving confidence. I have found it is impossible to increase my confidence if I am not managing my mental health issues properly. I recommend doing a mental health check before practicing habits to gain confidence as a mom..
What is Self-Confidence?
According to Merriam-Webster, Self Confidence is simply “ confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities.” Self-confidence is a feeling or belief that you can do something well or succeed at something. What does this look like in real-time, though?
Five Things Self-Confident Moms Do:
- We set realistic expectations for our accomplishments.
- We are self aware and accept both our strengths and flaws equally
- We measure ourselves against ourselves, not others
- We set healthy boundaries
- We choose positivity over feelings
To gain confidence as a mom, you often must gain confidence as a woman/human first.
You are a person, a woman before you are a mom.
As taking care of ourselves must come first in order to take care of children, building our self-confidence first, allows us to then build our confidence as a mom.
Things Low Confident Moms Need to Know
So by using the lists above we:
We know What Not to Do: change “me” for others, second-guess myself, allow myself to feel inferior to others, and don't overthink what someone says, don't compare to others.
We know What to Do to gain self confidence as a mom:
Think positive, accept “me” (warts and all), have realistic (anti-wonder mom) expectations, and keep our boundaries (just say no). What does the journey look like as moms gain confidence?
Because you are juggling 10 things, words are words, intentions are intentions, but you need something practical to apply? That doesn't involve an entire journaling practice for the time I don't have? Please and thank you.
5 Practices to Gain Confidence as a Mom
1. Positive Thought Framing:
An example is: “This is a challenge”, versus, ” This is a problem “. Another example is: “This is a path we can walk together”, versus, “This is a big hill we have to climb. ” Positive Self talk, as cliché' as it sounds is key to gain self confidence as a mom.
2. Acknowledge all the small things you did right to gain confidence as a mom:
We frequently do small things and forget that we do them and don't give ourself credit for the small things. YES: I fed the children/family/pets + I did a load of laundry + I gave the pets attention + I called/emailed + I didn't eat 5 cookies, I ate 2. These are accomplishments and they count!
3. Set reasonable expectations to gain confidence as a mom
With children at home, plan to get interrupted for every task you start. Then when the task doesn't get done that day, you can still give yourself credit for getting 25% of the task done. Don't expect the To-Do list to be completed to-day.
4. Listen to Positive Peers or No Peers to continue to gain confidence as a mom:
I found that my mind-set changed when I began listening to online peers instead of my in-person peers. My online peers are much more educated and experienced, thus more supportive. Confident women value themselves enough to seek out positive, supportive peers.
5. Give yourself positive feedback daily to gain confidence as a mom:
Accept yourself as you accept others. There is not going to be positive feedback or positive results 100% of the time. You have to be the one to give yourself that feedback on a consistent basis. I find it helpful to be a “teacher self” talking to my “student self” with offerings of encouragement and positive feedback.
Mom’s Self-Confidence Effects Their Children’s Self Confidence
The number one motivator for increasing your own self-confidence?
Experts discovered that a mom's level of self-confidence gets passed on to her children. Children will always inherit from us the same level of self-worth. It is vital for us as mothers to recognize our own self-esteem issues and use confidence-building habits so our children can simply catch mom's self-confidence vibe. That's why our self-confidence must come first.
Being a mom can be one of the most rewarding, yet challenging roles a woman can have. To gain confidence as a mom you must have a combination of self-awareness, self-care, and support.
It's important to remember that every mom is different, and what works for one may not work for another. With time and effort, you can gain confidence as a mom so that you feel better and be the best mom you can be.
