Being a parent is challenging. Unfortunately, this experience can easily turn into a stressful and hurried lifestyle. These basics help you to find your zen back as a parent.

When parenthood overwhelms you
No one can prepare you for parenthood, and no one can help you always make the right choices. As soon as your child lands in your arms you feel insecure. You are responsible for a person. You want to do as well as you can, and go out in your best convertible car seat but you don’t always know how.

Reverse to Basic

Combined with the high demands that society places on you, it is not easy to maintain your peace and to be the father or mother you would like to be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB-IILp8I8Y

But how do you do that, get your peace back? Below five practical basics.

1. Do not wish yourself in the future or the past
When your baby is just born, and you get too little sleep due to nocturnal crying, it is tempting to dream of a time when your son or daughter will finally sleep through. Every phase of education has advantages and disadvantages. It is easy to get carried away by the disadvantages of today and the benefits of later.

2. Learn to deal with a bad mood
Both you and your child occasionally have to deal with a bad mood. You may not feel so happy for a moment, that you are tired and cranky, and that you are more irritable than usual. Do your best to notice a bad mood in yourself. Because as soon as you know that you are just in a bad mood, you can put your problems in perspective better, and you prevent losing your patience with your child (ren).

3. Do one thing at a time
Multitasking is a favorite skill especially for mothers. Because the more things you can do at the same time, the sooner you will be ready. However, the problem is that the more things you can do at the same time, the more you do, and the faster time seems to go. Because of this you get even more rush, and you get the urge to do even more.

The point is, multitasking is not zen. It doesn’t give you a calm feeling either. Zen is living in the moment and doing all things one by one. So when you do one you don’t think about the other. So don’t change your diaper and at the same time think about preparing lunch and warming up the bottle and getting rid of the mail.

4. Do not search for the correct answer
Parenting is not an exact science. You can seek advice, read books, get yourself coached and get help. But whatever you do, nobody has all the answers ready for you.

5. Live less in your head
You hold your zen by turning less on your thoughts and experiencing life stronger. What does this mean? Simply that you begin to question the thoughts that you have. If you think “I am tired”, “I am always tired, maybe something is wrong with me, I am a worthless mother etc.” it is time to put the brakes on.