Thanks so much for being here! As I move forward, I want this to be a place where we can connect, and you can feel supported and heard.

To be clear, I am really wanting to serve moms of teens that have a desire to grow themselves and shine in the world.

Because you have a lot to give.
Because you have gifts and talents that deserve to be shared
Because you want to grow yourself
Because you want to feel more like you
Because your kids are growing up and won't always need you to be there
Because you deserve to dream and create the life you desire

My desire in doing this is because this is my story. I am a mom of teens. And I have experience in transitioning from stay at home mom, to mom in school, to working mom part time as a music school teacher. I am passionate about supporting moms to not only take care of their families, but to also find their own individual voice, use their interests, gifts and talents to share with their community and world.

These past few weeks I have been interviewing and surveying moms around me who are mom's of teens. I have been curious about how I can serve you better as an empowerment coach for moms. I'd like to share with you what I have found. So you know you are not alone. That there are others who feel the same way. And hopefully I can share with you some ideas of ways I can offer support.

As a mom of teens, what challenges are your facing?
Top responses were lack of appreciation, tired/worn out, and wanting to control.

Next in line were loneliness, and feeling like you are doing it all.

And third, burn out, lack of support, and stress.
Interestingly, lack of boundaries, and time management came in at the bottom.

Do any of these sound familiar?

That's a lot! As a life coach I see all of these areas. And I have a few ideas to share with you about how to feel greater self awareness. Much of the pressure we experience is self inflicted. And it doesn't have to be that way. I have so many tools to support you to feel empowered as a mom.

So here are my top ways to feel more support for yourself:

Talk it out!
The main way moms wanted to get support was to talk it out. Just finding a friend, or family member to reach out to really makes a difference. But sometimes that isn't possible or it just isn't the right fit. Not everyone is a good listener. Finding a good life coach is always a great idea especially if you are wanting to move forward. Finding support for yourself is essential especially when feeling overwhelmed, tired, or burnout.

Give yourself more love.
Like a lot!! Pretend there is so much love available and it is just excitedly waiting for you to take it in. Pretend that all you need to do is scoop in this love into your body and you get to just receive it. How much love can you receive? There is no shame in taking in love. There is enough and to spare. Give yourself permission to take in ALL the love you can hold.

PLAY!
You don't have to take yourself so seriously. Allow yourself to have fun and Play! Play with expressing. Play with creating. Play with nature. With how you move. Allow yourself to Play. So you can see things in new ways.

Start to wonder!
Give yourself the gift of wonder. Say to yourself "I am curious about how I am feeling. I wonder ..." Wonder about the idea of trying to do it 'right'. See if there are other ways to look at it. There are all sorts of things to wonder about to see things in a new light. Wondering helps us get out of a stuckness energy and into in insights and movement we might not have seen before.

Feel your feelings
Allow yourself to feel. Even if it is negative. And play with your feelings. Breathe through them. Notice them in your body and stretch and move through them. And then give yourself more love as you feel them. And then notice how you feel afterwards.

Express Appreciation
It might seem counterintuitive, but noticing and appreciating can change your view of the world around you. It can help you see better the little things that bring joy, enjoyment, and love back into your life. Such as appreciating a sunset or sunrise. Or the beauty of nature, or a hug from one of your kids. These things are small and simple, but to me, bring things back into perspective. And then things don't seem so hard. I can receive more love and gentle compassion for myself and those around me. 

These are just a few ideas to get you started. But know they are powerful if you take them to use. There is so much more to come. I can't wait to share with you what else I have been discovering.

Rooting for you my friend! 
I'll share more of what I found out from the survey next week. 
Till next time!

Julie Burningham
Empowerment Coach for Moms

If you liked this article, feel free to sign up for my Shine Your Light newsletter all about empowering moms with teens to glow and get a free ebook as a bonus!