School’s out for summer – are you managing to hold onto your sanity? If not, don’t worry, you are far from alone! As difficult as it can be to find time to work on you, it really can help you to keep going during the holidays. Our last blog was about the inner obstacles that can stop you from reaching your potential. This one is going to give you some ideas on how to kick-start your personal growth in the areas we discussed. Lock yourself away in the bathroom for five minutes and try one of the ideas below. At the very least, it will give you a brief break from the summer madness!

The first obstacle we discussed was self-confidence. This doesn’t change overnight and needs some consistency but try the following ideas to give your confidence a much needed boost:

• Accept every compliment with a thank you – If you need to work on your self-esteem, I’m betting that you tend to brush off any compliments that you may receive. Someone comments on your lovely outfit and you respond, “oh, this old thing”. Instead, start accepting those compliments with a simple thank you, however awkward it might make you feel.
• Positive “I am” statements – I’m not going to lie, this will feel uncomfortable and it might even feel like you’re just lying. But that doesn’t matter to your brain – it will just hear the words you say. Come up with a list of 5 positive statements that start with “I am” and then tell yourself them every day.

Next, we talked about difficulties around communication skills. Again, this is not going to be an overnight miracle cure but it’s going to get you taking those first steps in the right direction:

• Be prepared – If you know that you have a networking meeting coming up or some form of social event, get yourself prepared by coming up with a list of possible questions that you can ask someone so the conversation keeps flowing.
• Become an actor – By pretending we’re someone else, we distance ourselves from the situation and that can make it easier to deal with. Whether you need to make a phone call or approach someone for a chat, pretend you are your favourite actor and play the role.

Finally, we talked about the need for problem-solving skills. Many of the experts out there would tell you to get a good night’s sleep, but we know how unrealistic that can be when you have young children. Instead, try the following ideas:

• Brain training apps – There are hundreds of them out there now and many of them are available for free. Download a couple of them that grab your attention. They are designed to help you develop these areas of your brain. You might even want to try something like Sudoku puzzles.
• Get creative – Yes, it’s an entirely different area of personal development but being more creative can actually help you with problem-solving too. It could be an art class, dancing around your kitchen, building a model with your child. What it is doesn’t matter; just spend some time getting creative.

Let us know which of these you try and how you get on. In the meantime, try to relax and enjoy the summer.

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Empowering Mums is on a mission to empower a million mums and mumpreneurs just like you with greater confidence, balance and clarity to activate your infinite capabilities within! Enabling you to enjoy an easier, happier life alongside running a highly successful business. Aligned with enjoying time out for an essential self-care routine that fulfils your own needs and delight in quality time spent with your children being the mum you really want to be!

For further support please contact Empowering Mums today on 01606 334 015, alternatively visit our website at www.empoweringmums.com for more information.