
How Becoming a Single Mom Changed Me- 008
Meet Andrea
Andrea is a single mom of 3 girls living in Ohio. She has built a successful online business mentoring women to find healing, happiness and self love again.
“Struggling with my failing marriage & going through my divorce was the lowest point of life. But it also became the foundation of my strength. Healing is choice and I am so grateful for the healing that has occurred in my life and the amazing co-parenting relationship I have today with my ex-husband. It’s all a testament to God.”
-andrea sims
Andrea also enjoys working out & reading a good book with a cup of amazing coffee.
Divorce became her catalyst
No one expects or anticipates they will walk through divorce. It’s often an obstacle or challenge that no one hopes they have to navigate.
But even in the midst of divorce, you have the choice to choose how you navigate that obstacle. Instead of dwelling and sinking into the pain and discomfort, Andrea chose to dive into personal development. She decided to make change and begin to work on herself.
“I wouldn’t have changed anything about my journey through divorce because it’s brought me to where I am today and changed my relationship with God.”
-andrea sims
God winks
People and instances that come into our lives aren’t all coincidences. There are the small moments that are there for a purpose and for a reason. When you take your life off autopilot you begin to notice them. You begin to recognize how each moment, each obstacle, and each opportunity has a role in helping to craft your life story.
How creating a business online opened up to personal development
There are many opportunities in today’s world for women to create an online business while still being home with their children or creating a side hustle to help meet the extra financial needs of their families.
These business opportunities can also be extremely powerful in opening up the world of personal development.
Just because you’re getting older does not mean you’re growing. Growth is intentional and purposeful. It doesn’t just happen.
-andrea sims
Working on yourself, being intentional with progress and growth, is going to be how you turn any obstacle into a learning and growing opportunity.
How do you take what you’ve learned in personal development to apply to raising teenage girls?
Raising teenage girls can be challenging. Helping them learn to love themselves, understand what their feeling, and becoming confident and resilient is powerful. We have the opportunity to take our obstacles and personal growth and give them the tools so that when they face their own obstacles they are equipped to handle them.
Validate their feelings
It’s so easy for us to jump in and contradict our kids when they make states of why they are unworthy. We look at them and see them as our wonderful children and would never dream of them having negative thoughts about themselves.
But instead jumping in with “princess, you’re beautiful” when your daughter states “she’s ugly,” identify with the feelings she’s experiencing. Whether or not what she’s feeling is true, in her mind, the feeling is real. Negating and skipping over acknowledging her feelings creates disconnect.
When you validate what she’s feeling, you create a heart connection and increase her trust in you and her willingness to be vulnerable and share those heart feelings.
Battling the thoughts of why we aren’t good enough
The feelings of why we aren’t good enough always run deep. We all have beliefs that are deep seeded that guide the way we act. They are what we use to measure our worth and value. But these beliefs and thoughts are often flawed.
We have to first acknowledge and become aware of the thoughts before we can access whether or not they are truth.
Spend time journaling
Spend time allow yourself to process what’s going on internally. Let it flow. Create space to just spend time getting to know yourself.
Get off auto pilot.
Have you ever noticed you go through the entire day but can’t remember any of it? That is auto pilot.
We’re living without being fully present.
Autopilot can rob us from the awareness and processing of what we’re actually feeling and what’s going on inside.
Autopilot can serve us and help us be more efficient. It’s our brain’s way of synthesizing. But in autopilot we miss moments. We miss out on feeling. We have to be intentional to create moments when we turn off the auto pilot and living fully present.
Run towards obstacles
You’re going to encounter bad times. You’re going to have to navigate through them. If you spend all your time and energy trying to avoid the obstacles, you’re going to get tired. By the time the obstacle actually arrives, you’re going to be exhausted and depleted.
But instead of running from them, be like the buffalo and run towards them. Walk through them.
Connect with Andrea
Find her on instagram at @single_moms_be_like
Resources mentioned in this episode
Download her {FREE} 5 Steps to Rise Up Strong
My Fave Personal Development books
