How to Stop the Inner Critic as a Homeschool Mom: The Charmed Life I Was Chasing (& the Pattern I Didn’t Know I Was Living)

When “Keep Going” Becomes Survival: How to Stop the Inner Critic as a Homeschool Mom If you’ve been wondering how to stop the inner critic as a homeschool mom, this episode will show you why that voice is so loud—and where it actually came from. This month’s focus: Nurturing the Nurturer — because the voice telling you you’re not enough didn’t start with homeschooling. It started long before. And it’s running your days more than you realize. I was eight months pregnant, in relentless pain, watching my support system shift beneath me—and I told myself to just keep going. Years later, on a chaotic Monday morning with four kids and cold coffee, I was still saying the same thing. What I didn’t know then was that I wasn’t being strong. I was surviving a pattern I’d learned as a child—one that many homeschool moms are still living without realizing it. In this episode, I’m sharing two personal stories that finally helped me see: the inner narratives I developed in childhood to survive chaos were now shaping how I showed up as a homeschool mom. And they were costing me connection—with myself, my kids, and the life I actually wanted. What You’ll Discover in This Episode The Inheritance You Didn’t Ask For: How childhood survival patterns show up in your homeschool lifeWhy “keep going” isn’t strength—it’s often unprocessed survivalThe hidden cost of white-knuckling through motherhoodWhat it means to lead from alignment instead of old scripts Two Stories, One Pattern: Being eight months pregnant: contractions, exhaustion, feeling abandoned—and the belief that stopping meant failingA Monday morning in slump month: foggy, irritable, yelling at the kids, and realizing the loud voice wasn’t just theirs—it was mineHow these moments, years apart, were connected by the same inherited narrative The Inner Critic You Don’t Realize Is Running the Show: “If I stop, everything falls apart”“I should be able to do this”“Other moms handle this better”“If I rest, I’m letting everyone down” How to Stop the Inner Critic as a Homeschool Mom: Recognizing that mistakes are just mistakes—you can repairUnderstanding that your worth isn’t found in hustling or proving yourselfBuilding a firmer inner connection so you can lead from intention, not pressureMoving from reaction to response—aligned from the inside out The Truth About the Inner Critic Learning how to stop the inner critic as a homeschool mom isn’t about positive thinking or trying harder. It’s about seeing the pattern clearly—and choosing something different. Your kids don’t need you to be perfect. They need you to show up as yourself—fully, imperfectly, and grounded. But when the inner critic is running the show, you’re not leading from presence. You’re reacting from an old story that was never yours to begin with. And that story? It didn’t come from homeschooling. It came from somewhere earlier. Somewhere deeper. Until you see it clearly, it’s going to keep driving your days. Coming This Week on the Confident Homeschool Life YouTube Channel: “The Inner Critic Pattern So Many Homeschool Moms Don’t Realize They’re In”“18 Things Homeschool Moms Say to Themselves (That They’d Never Say to a Friend)” How you talk to yourself REALLY matters. So you’ll definitely want to catch those on YouTube. Join the Calm the Inner Critic Workshop Ready to go deeper and learn how to stop the inner critic as a homeschool mom?This month, I’m hosting a workshop to help you see what’s been driving you—and choose something different. Not to fix yourself. But to untangle the overwhelm and stop reacting from inherited survival mode. So you can lead your homeschool life from a place that actually feels like you—with presence, calm, and clarity. Free Resource: Book Your Aligned Homeschool Reset Session If you’re ready to untangle the overwhelm and build a homeschool life that actually fits you, I have an opening on Friday for a free Aligned Homeschool Reset session. Want more support? Join the Confident Homeschool Mom communityRead: Homeschool Mama Self-Care: Nurturing the NurturerListen: Previous episodes on setting boundaries Latest Episodes You Might Also Enjoy: 11 Powerful Affirmations Every Homeschool Mom Needs to HearStop Asking These 6 Homeschool Questions (That Sabotage Your Life)How to Stop Being a Hostage to Homeschool Pressure (& What to Do Instead)How to Homeschool During a Crisis with Lynda PuleioThe Real Reason You’re Overwhelmed (It’s Not the Curriculum)50 ways I nurture myself as a homeschool mamaAwakened Homeschool Family: Living with Purpose, Learning from HeartSelf-Compassion for Homeschool Mamas Course to Nurture YouThe Most Important Way to Take Care of Yourself as an Overwhelmed Homeschool Mom Share This Episode Know a homeschool mom struggling with the inner critic? Send her this episode. It might be exactly what she needs to hear today. Remember: You ...