Have you ever noticed what your first thoughts as you wake up in the morning are? 

That very first thought that pops into your head just before you open your eyes.

This struck me a few weeks ago when I notice that my first thought one particular morning was,

“What should I be worrying about?”

Before I knew what time is was or even what day of the week it was, my brain was searching for what problems needed my attention.  What should I be worried about?  What problem was I thinking about just before I fell asleep? 

As if everyone and everything around me would crumble if I took a break from solving problems.

Does this happen to you too? Do you have a running list of concerns in your mind at all times? 

As humans we are expert problem solvers, then we become mothers and problem solving becomes our superpower. 

But when you spend so much of your day rehearsing problems:

• You find more problems
• You feel anxious, worried and out of control
• You take on problems that were never yours to begin with
• You become frustrated when people don’t appreciate your efforts to solve their problems
• You are short and snippy with the people around you

When we do this it actually makes our problems worse.

Imagine if you didn't have to be on problem patrol 24/7.   

I have three tips you can use to help you climb out of the problem pit:

1. Appreciate that your brain is trying to protect you by looking out for danger, then reassure your brain. It looks something like this, “Here goes my brain again trying to look out for danger, I am safe and protected".
2. Decide if it is even your problem to solve. I am amazed at how many other peoples problems I spend time trying to solve.  That includes my husband, children, parents, siblings, friends etc.  I can support and encourage but I don’t have to carry it for them.
3. Look at ways that you could use your problem to become a benefit to you. This gets your brain working on solutions rather than dwelling on the problem.  It will be hard at first but stick with it.

Life becomes so much more enjoyable when we are looking around for what is going right instead of what is going wrong.  Trust me....give it a try!