This week I was listening to an interview one of my mentors, Todd Herman, a peak performance coach, had with Marie Forleo. (It was a great interview! Google it.) He was discussing a concept that dealt with having an Oww brain mindset or a Wow brain mindset. As I was listening to him, I could totally see how this applied to all of us fabulous homeschooling moms!
Let me tell you about two of my clients so you can see the difference yourself. One, let’s call her Abby, has two kids, uses a popular curriculum, and has been homeschooling for a year and a half now. When we chat she starts with discussions about how her youngest, a 4 year old boy, isn’t reading yet and how her 3rd grader, a girl, isn’t mastering multiplication fast enough. She is worried all the time about not reaching the next milestone.
Now let me tell you about a woman I will call Patty. She has a similar family and homeschooling setup. When we get on a call, she will start with different problems she may have had, tell me about things she has tried, what progress was made, and then how she could use help.
Can you see the difference? At first it wasn’t so clear to me either. One of these women, Abby, without changing her patterns at all, will continue on a path that leaves her worried, frustrated, full of fear, and likely will not get quick and easy results. On top of that, she is teaching her children to deal with learning and goal setting in the same way. I think many of us have been in this place on our journey at one point. This is a classic “Oww” brain.
Now Patty has many of the same worries, but she is handling them differently. She will also get better results. Her life isn’t full of fear, but is full of resilience. She takes each part of her journey and specifically sees what is better than yesterday. Patty is a classic “Wow” brain. She literally sees the WOW of the improvement in her kid’s progress. She isn’t so totally focused on her goals and not achieving them that she can’t enjoy and celebrate the little steps along the way.
With kids and learning, little steps are what it is all about. Yes, there are big breakthroughs, but if you only celebrate the day they start to read and not all of the progress before and after the big moment, you miss what is so special in the journey.
Take a moment and activate your WOW brain. What did your kids learn yesterday? Celebrate the progress! It will be worth it.