Have you felt like you don’t know who you are anymore? Did you lose yourself in motherhood?

It’s time to start rediscovering yourself after motherhood. Continuing to use the excuse that you have no time for yourself after having a baby isn’t going to help.

I have a special guest on the Real Happy Mom Podcast that helps moms with the common problem of losing their identity after having a child.

With the simple steps she mentions in this episode, you will return to feeling like you again instead of being lost in motherhood.

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In this Real Happy Mom Podcast episode, I am talking to Katie Kahvo.

Katie is a wife, mother to a three-year-old, and a life coach.

Katie started her work as a holistic nutritionist but found she was helping her clients deal more with motherhood’s stresses.

As a result, she shifted her practice and provided life coaching services.

What does it look like when you lose yourself in motherhood?

As a mother, it’s easy to get to where you feel like you have lost yourself or your identity.

Katie explains that this can quickly happen because being a new parent, especially for a first-time mom, is so encompassing.

Your sweet little cherub requires so much attention.

Besides, you learn how to care for a new baby and be the supermom everyone talks about.

Even if you think you know what you’re doing. You don’t.

As a result, you put so much time and energy into figuring everything out and working through this transition into motherhood.

And I think that you kind of get into that routine and you get into that habit. And then as life continues on, even though the child grows older and may not be so dependent on you like they once were, it’s just a habit now. You just do it without really thinking about it. And then a few years go by, or many years go by in some cases. And all of a sudden I think we have this moment of you know, “what happened” and “who am I” and “what am I doing” and “what do I even like.”

This is when it’s time to start rediscovering yourself after motherhood.

When Katie said this, I felt like I had Deja Vu. I remember talking to one of my colleagues at work for the first time after having my first son.

And I was asked what I like to do for fun. I had the dumbest look and said: “I don’t know.”

The truth is, I didn’t know. I had wrapped myself and my identity into being a mom.

It was almost like a difficult question on a game show when I was asked what my favorite food was.

Have you lost yourself?

How can moms tell if they have gotten to that point of losing themselves through motherhood?

Katie explains that if you are asking the questions (“what happened” and “who am I” and “what am I doing” and “what do I even like.”) or not sure of the answers, that is a good indicator that you are probably losing yourself in motherhood.

I think if you don’t feel clear on who you are and if you aren’t confident in yourself. If you’re not confident in your decision makings. Or one that I have heard a few times, is they’re not confident going out in public without their kids anymore and having an adult conversation. They don’t know how to talk about things outside of their kids. When we stop making time for ourselves. When we stop making self-care part of our regular routine. If you’re super stressed out and overwhelmed. If you’re constantly feeling frazzled, there’s a really good chance that you’re really disconnected from yourself.

Steps to regain your identity when you lose yourself in motherhood

So how can you regain your identity and begin rediscovering yourself after motherhood?

First, know that you are not alone.

Don’t let the feelings of shame and embarrassment take over because the truth is all moms have been here at one time or another.

You are capable of coming out of this and regaining your identity again.

Katie gives a 5 step process to help you regain your identity and feel like yourself again.

Start listening

Start listening to the voices inside of your head. You know.

The negative voices and phrases that you say in your mind.

Listen to the phrases that you say that aren’t necessarily negative but always come up.

Pay attention to that.

So mine, for example, was “I don’t know”. What are we having for dinner? I don’t know. What are we doing this weekend? I don’t know. What’s my next step in my business? Or how do I address this parenting issue? I don’t know.

Katie shared how she noticed she said, “I don’t know,” every 10 minutes.

That phrase pops into my head and it can be really, really disempowering

Spend a day or two paying attention to what you are saying and thinking.

So fear is a very powerful thing and it raises its head each and every time change happens. Each and every time growth happens. So it doesn’t mean though, just because fear has come up that that’s not the right direction to go in. So just because those voices are coming up doesn’t mean that we’re making the wrong decision or that we don’t really know the answer. Because probably we do. So pay attention to the things you repeating to yourself.

Once you have spent no more than a week listening and paying attention to the voices and phrases, write them down.

Rewrite the phrases

Now it is time to rewrite those phrases.

By doing this, you will be able to take back your power.

So back to Katie’s example of the phrase, “I don’t know.”

So for me, it was about stopping when I heard “I don’t know” pop into my head. I no longer let it come out of my mouth. That’s how I stopped it. And I reworded it to say, okay, “I’ll figure it out.” And it’s so much more powerful when you can do that. And if I couldn’t figure it out, then it was, “it wasn’t that important.”

You can also use positive affirmations to help with rewriting those phrases.

I have actually a whole blog post on writing affirmations because this is something that I think people are hesitant to a lot because they believe that affirmations are something we tell ourselves that isn’t true, but that we want it to be true. But affirmations can be that.

So another really common phrase that needs to be rewritten is, “I don’t have time for that.”

Repeating this phrase in your head or coming out of your mouth can make you feel disempowered.

Instead of saying this, try saying, “I have time to get the things done today that needs to be done, and the rest will wait till tomorrow because I am only one person.”

Bring in silence

I think in our society that we live in with all the technology, with all social media, it is very fast paced. It’s very, very go, go, go, go, go. Expectations are high and we forget to take a step back and breathe.

It’s so important to slow down and find time for stillness.

Katie mentions meditation and how meditation has been proven to be powerful and effective in positively impacting our lives.

Taking time to breathe is essential.

It’s important to remember that slowing down can actually be more productive than speeding up. Because when we slow down, we allow for clarity. We allow for time to think about things. And to maybe we approach things a different way. Or let go of things that we’re doing that we’re just doing kind of habit that we don’t really need to be doing. So make time for silence.

You can make time for silence by:

• Turning off the radio when you are driving alone.
• Practicing meditation
• Waking up before the kids
• Leave for work a few minutes early so that you are not rushing
• Put away phones, computers, and tablets
• Do some physical activity like walking or even picking up the weeds outside.

And another great thing about that is we often have all the answers inside of us. I think that we know what’s best for us. We know what’s best for our family. But when we’re going at such a fast pace constantly that we lose track of that. So taking that step back and slowing down can really give us clarity.

Envision and dream

Next, you want to allow yourself to dream. Allow yourself to envision things.

And I think this is one that is really, really difficult for people. It’s something that we often judge ourselves for. So say we have a big dream about something, it will pop into your head and we’ll be really excited for a couple of seconds. And then our practical mind comes in and says, yeah, right, who are you to do that? You have 3 kids and a full-time job and when are you ever gonna do that?

So, release the judgment and fear. Tell those thoughts that come against your dreams to shut up.

Just because you are dreaming doesn’t mean you will act on every dream.

Or that every dream will come true.

But give yourself the space to dream.

I know Jensen Sincero who writes the Badass books, which I love. There’s a quote from that book that says, “The invisible world creates the visible world.” So if you are so unhappy with your life right now. If you’re super stressed and overwhelmed. When you’re looking for change, sometimes we need to stop. Take a step back and say, okay, so what do we want? What would be the ideal situation? Because a lot of times we don’t know that because we’ve never taken time to think about it.

So take time to dream and envision.

Be brave

This last step is super powerful.

You have to be brave.

Katie explains that change and growth are hard and can be scary. But remember to be brave.

Because, as Katie explains, our minds are made to keep us safe.

Sometimes you will have to be brave and jump.

Katie’s best tip for moms to begin rediscovering themselves after motherhood

I would say, do things that you enjoy. Don’t let go of that. Make that time for self care and continue to do things that you really like for you. It’s not the “kids like this and I’m going to go and do it.” It’s actually, “I really liked doing this too.” And that may include the kids or it may not.

If you’re having difficulty figuring out what you enjoy, think back to you had kids and a husband.

What did you enjoy back then? What were your hobbies or favorite events to attend?

This is an easy process for rediscovering yourself after motherhood.

Katie also recommends trying new things until you find something that you like.

Trying something interesting can give you something to look forward to and something fun to do.

Plus, you will quickly find out if it’s something you truly enjoy doing.

To learn more about Katie and find out what Katie’s up to, you can find her on her website.

You can also find her interacting in her Facebook group, True You, on her Facebook page and Instagram.

Let me know if you have felt like you lose yourself in motherhood and if you’re rediscovering yourself after motherhood.

Key takeaways

• Know that you are not alone. We have all been through this phase of feeling like we have lost our identity when we become mothers.
• Pay attention to the words and phrases that you constantly repeat.
• Replace negative phrases with positive ones.
• Make time for stillness and give yourself space to dream.
• Be brave because change and growth can bring on fear.
• Remember to do things that you enjoy.

Links mentioned in this episode

• Coloring Book
• Katie’s blog post on affirmations
• Jen Sencero
• Katie’s website
• True You Facebook group
• Katie’s Facebook page
• Katie on Instagram

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