3 Things to Remember When You Feel Discouraged and Overwhelmed
Are you feeling a little (or a lot) discouraged today? Managing home and homeschool is challenging! I want to give you—and myself— a homeschool pep talk. I know I could use a little encouragement, and my guess is, a lot of you homeschool mamas could, too. We’re going to talk about three effective responses to discouragement when homeschooling.
Your Feelings Are Temporary
Response number one is to remember that the way you feel right now is not permanent.
The way you feel right now is not permanent.
Before we go any further, I want to qualify this. I recognize that you may experience seasons or circumstances that are more serious, long-lasting, and aren’t going to look different in the foreseeable future. That’s not what I’m talking about. The discouragement and overwhelm I’m addressing today is what you face when your curriculum isn’t working well, your kids seem disengaged, your schedule is disjointed, and you just can’t seem to get everyone home for dinner at the same time.
I’m talking about discouragement with the everyday busyness, frustrations, and relationships.
Whenever I feel overwhelmed or discouraged, I need to remind myself that I’ve felt this way before. I’ve been here many times. Too busy to get done all the things that need doing. Too many demands on my time, emotions, or finances. Too much weight on my mind or heart.
And then…I have a day when everyone finishes their school work early and I have an hour to work on my project. Or the big event comes and goes and I actually do have time to catch up on my household chores. Maybe the whole family pitches in and the mountain of laundry gets done in a day.
My perspective changes overnight.
Your Perspective Will Change
It’s important to remember that what you’re feeling right now, in this moment, will likely change tomorrow, or next week, or once this season of commitment is finished.
Remind yourself that your feelings are changeable. Your world can look different after a good night’s sleep, a shared joke, or even an encouraging podcast episode!
So what do you do with this reminder?
Prioritize What You Value Most
After you remind yourself that your feelings aren’t permanent, think about your important-but-not-urgent priorities. I’ve written a lot about prioritizing a morning routine that includes daily Bible reading, prayer, and walking. In the past week, I’ve missed two of my daily walks and I know if I don’t get back on track, this could be the beginning of the end of that habit.
Even, and I’d say especially, when life feels overwhelming, don’t neglect those important things that tend to get dropped first.
Read your Bible even when you know you can’t possibly get through your to-do list.
Get some fresh air.
Go for a walk or do a workout.
Offer a prayer of thanksgiving and ask for God’s help and guidance in your daily decisions.
Don’t get so caught up in putting out fires and handling the urgent tasks that you completely neglect the things you value most. Obviously, the truly urgent needs your attention, but there will always be something urgently demanding your time that is not truly urgent to you.
Relationships Over Results
Response number two is to remember that relationships matter more than results.
Relationships matter more than results.
What I mean by this is that my number one priority in homeschooling my kids is to build strong relationships with them. I tend to get discouraged when I don’t see the outcomes I want in myself or my kids. Our “school” results are important to me. I definitely want them to learn and grow academically. but not at the cost of our relationships.
In a season when I am feeling stressed or discouraged, I need to remind myself that it’s ok if we don’t keep up with where I wanted to be.
From past experience, I know we will have productive days and weeks and make great progress.
Each year as I look back on our academic year, I see the learning and growth from the perspective of a longer lens.
So what do you do with this reminder?
Remind yourself that your kids need encouragement from you. As their mom and teacher, you are speaking into their lives more than anyone else.
When life and homeschool feels busy and overwhelming, are you speaking words of frustration, anger, or impossible expectations? Or words bringing encouragement, peace, and understanding?
What message are they hearing the loudest?
Ask them. Have you heard any positive feedback from me lately? How can I encourage you?
Keep Moving Forward
Finally, response number three is to remember to keep moving in the direction you want to go.
Keep moving forward.
Small, consistent actions are truly transformational. Make sure your actions are moving you toward a place you want to be, and then just keep taking steps forward.
It’s well-known that most New Year’s resolutions fail within months if not weeks of January 1st. Most of the time this can be attributed to trying to make big, sweeping changes all at once. We all know that doesn’t work.
The key to progress is stubborn, consistent, forward movement. When your list is long and your time is short, it’s tempting to throw up your hands in defeat. The couch and Doritos, or maybe Reels are calling your name. I’m all for taking a break and doing something to refresh your mind and body.
You definitely don’t have to run all the time. Sometimes taking a break is just what you need. But keep walking down the path in the direction you want to go. Remind yourself of where you’re headed and why that’s important to you.
So what do you do with this reminder?
It might look like plugging away on a long-term project— decluttering your house or creating a unit study for your kids, little bits at a time.
Perhaps it’s time-blocking to set aside a couple of hours each week to work on your business.
Or maybe it’s simply refusing to turn the TV on until you’ve completed your Bible study for the day.
There’s at least one thing that you know it’s important for you to be doing right now. Choose one thing that you can do consistently to keep moving forward.
Effective Responses to Discouragement and Overwhelm
Here’s a little bonus tip. If a friend were to come to you and express her discouragement with her current homeschool routine, busy schedule, or lack of morning routine, how would you respond to her?
You’d probably offer words of encouragement similar to what we just talked through.
This is a season.
Prioritize relationships.
What small thing can you do to make progress in this area?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed or discouraged today, give yourself a little grace, and remind yourself of these three things.
First, your feelings come and go. This season of discouragement is not permanent.
Second, your relationships matter more than results. Let go of your unrealistic expectations in this season.
Third, your small, consistent actions will lead to progress.
3 Responses to Overwhelm Free Download
I’m a list lover, so I have a visual reminder for you of what we’ve talked about today in the form of a short list of these three things to remember. Download the image and save it to your phone to pull up the next time you’re in a season, or even a moment, of feeling overwhelmed or discouraged.
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3 Responses to Overcome Discouragement and Overwhelm
