When WAHM Despair Settles In

We all go through it ya’ know.

WAHMD – work at home mom despair.

It’s that feeling of being lost, hopeless, frustrated…and the screams of “WTF do I do now” going through your head.

It causes doubt in yourself.

In your expertise.

Makes you wonder why did you get into this in the first place.

Makes you forget why you got into this in the first place.

No I’m not being redundant.

In 11 Practical Steps To Choosing A WAHM business, I mention “A personal goal is what you want for yourself. A business goal is what you want for your business.”

That post was about business goals.

Let’s talk about personal goals.

Some time during my fourth pregnancy I came to the decision, that this 4th kid would know me.

As toddlers, my teens were confused about who their mama was because I was always working. Though we were able to rectify that as they got older, I will never forget them being little and preferring the sitter over me.

My son, who’s 4 now, during his first year, didn’t give a rat’s ass if I was home or not cause he only saw me for an hour every morning and an hour at night. Forget the fact that I had worked until I went into labor so I could spend my full 8 weeks of maternity leave with him (4 weeks I negotiated for in lieu of a raise) and forget I had the 2am to 6am shift with him when I went back to work. He was sleepy, what the hell did he know?

He was daddy’s boy. Daddy is self employed too and it was a very slow year, so he was home with Damian for 9 months.

During that time, I being the baby machine, learned I was pregnant again.

And though I was thrilled, I worried about leaving another baby behind.

There are other moments that passed since then. Moments that reinforced my need to be home more with my family.

I talk about it on the mom blog.

It’s why I started working towards THE goal.

It’s why I am successful at being a Work At Home Mom today.

But I did fall into WAHMD twice during this journey.

At two different points in my journey I felt unsure of what I was doing, if I’d taken the right path, if I’d chosen the right niche.

Twice I’ve sat at this desk, in utter despair, not knowing what to do next to make this WAHM existence work.

The enormity of  everything that needed to be and not knowing which to start with would spiral me into this “I can’t do this” mode.

And then I’d go days, maybe sometimes weeks, not doing ANYTHING at all.

Just letting it all sit there.

But let me tell you, it’s curable.

I haven’t felt that way in over a year, maybe almost 2.

And it’s an easy two step method.

How to overcome WAHM despair in two simple steps.

Step one: Write down your personal goal.

WRITE IT DOWN ON PAPER.

And place it at eye level at your desk.

I’ve had one major goal for the past 3 years.

At my desk, there’s a post it on the wall that reads, “I will spend my days with my kids.”

Step two: Do one thing for your business.

Whether that be writing a blog post or spending an hour networking.

Do one thing.

Tomorrow do that thing and another thing.

You will get there.

You will make it.

Don’t give up.

Let your personal goal motivate you and grow your dream into a reality.

If you’re not sure what one thing to start with, or if your business idea seems too cluttered, check out this post and grab the free outline.

Go forth and be awesome.

Photo credit: Despairby ~Prototype969