Patience and Homeschooling

I was raised NOT to ask the Universe (God) for patience, because surely doing so would lead to a barrage of things to TEST patience.

As an adult that has lived through some interesting 0-star experiences, I value patience. We don't avoid praying for love, joy, kindness, or other fruits of the spirit - only patience.

In fact - citing a lack of patience is often a reason mothers tell me they cannot homeschool. 

Spoiler alert - God didn't gift me with more patience than other mothers. Ask my children or any of the hundreds of students who had the pleasure of having me as their teacher. 

Successful Homeschooling only requires 2 things: 

Knowing yourself and knowing your children. 

As a homeschool mindset mentor, I work with women who are getting to know themselves first. 

More times than not, the underlying factor impacting our ability to demonstrate the patience we actually do possess, is perfectionism. 

I'm kind and loving to others, yet terribly hard on myself when I make a mistake. I want the very best for my children so I don't want them to make "mistakes".

These situations lead us to chalk it up to "not having patience."

I’m learning to give myself grace and to be more patient about how long things take. It may be the time to learn something new, or the time it takes to complete the laundry any given week.

Over the years I have noticed a direct correlation between my quest for perfection and my inability to be patient with myself.

When I let go of the need to be perfect, I can be more patient with myself and my family as we grow.

Here is your homeschool mindset minute for today:

I AM PATIENT. I TAKE IT ALL STEP BY STEP.

Some things to journal on to shift your mindset even further:

Take 10 – 20 minutes on these prompts. Read through and respond to what strikes you, or simply take the journal topic and go in your own direction – this is about what you need.

What is one thing challenging your quest for patience right now?
What does wanting more patience look like? What does patience look like for you?
Make two lists:

1. Regularly occurring situations in which you would like more patience, and

2. Situations in it's time to make a change instead of simply being patient.

Are you ever impatient because you are trying to control too many people, events or situations in your life? What can you let go of in order to be more patient?