Self Help Books For Women Who Homeschool
Here are the top self help books for women who are homeschooling, specially selected because they are fantastic for improving your self-esteem, confidence, and happiness. Homeschooling is hard; it’s just you and the kids – there’s no cheerleader there to tell you what a fabulous job you are doing.
We all suffer from worrying whether we can do it and feeling unfulfilled. These self-help books will help you become far more positive and grateful for the life you have.
Even though my homeschool son is now at Oxford University, that doesn’t stop me feeling pretty down about myself. Burn out is a problem we all face. These books are my survival kit and I strongly recommend them to all homeschool moms.
N.B. Both these books are general self help books for women, but you will soon see why they are so important for homeschooling.
Please note that the book links on this page are affiliate links so if you buy I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Best Self Help Books For Women
My top pick is Susan Jeffers Feel the Fear And Do It Anyway and with over 2 million copies sold it seems I am not alone!
Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway
This book goes to the heart of why homeschooling is so difficult. Susan Jeffers explains that the biggest reason we struggle is fear – and that is so relevant to us Moms because homeschooling is scary! The responsibility of giving your child the best start in life is enormous and there are so many things to worry about:
- Will my child keep up?
- What if I make a mess of things and ruin my child’s future?
- Will my child suffer because they won’t find friends?
I am sure you can add many more doubts to this list!
Susan Jeffers reveals a fundamental truth: all our worries are based on a simple overriding fear: that you’ll fail and you can’t handle it.
She goes on to say that she doesn’t expect you to be jumping up and down with joy at this point! But once you have accepted that FEAR is at the base of all your insecurities you can begin to face up to what is really going on.
She then moves on to show that to diminish your fear you simply have to get better at developing more trust in yourself.
Here is one of my favorite quotes:
“Every time you feel afraid, remind yourself that it is simply because you are not feeling good enough about yourself.”
~ Susan Jeffers, Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway
She then teaches techniques to help you regain your confidence and sense of worth like:
- Getting rid of the negative chatterbox in your head and turning it into a voice of love and calm
- How to stop agonizing and make a no-lose decision
- Getting rid of the negative people in your life
The Homeschooling Happiness Course
I was so struck with how useful Susan Jeffer’s techniques are that I immediately realized they have tremendous relevance to homeschooling. Many of the challenges we face – like feeling vulnerable and worrying about whether we are doing the right thing – are problems that we can tackle using her techniques.
So I adapted her ideas to homeschooling, added my own and ran a very successful course taken by over 750 homeschoolers showing how you can help yourself feel so much better about yourself.
Based on the success of my course, I have developed a series of 15-minute Challenges that are designed especially for us homeschooling Moms to help us find the fulfillment, confidence, and joy we deserve.
Happiness Challenge for Homeschooling Moms
Women Who Think Too Much
Heer’s my second top choice for self-help books:
Women Who Think Too Much
It’s one of the best general self help books for women because sadly thinking too much is something the author thinks we are particularly prone to!
And when it comes to homeschooling, I am sure she’ right.
Waking up in the middle of the night trying to deal with a swirl of worries about your child like:
- How can I teach a subject I don’t know?
- Am I giving each of my children enough attention?
- Will my child be too ‘different’?
Susan says:
Many of us are flooded with worries, thoughts, emotions that flow out of ocntrol. We are suffering from an epidemic of overthinking.
~ Dr Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Women Who Think Too Much
She explains that overthinking is something women are much more prone to than men – and that it’s a toxic habit that can wreck our emotional health. Somehow we seem to be drawn to trying to ponder the deepest questions when we are at our most vulnerable.
She explains that it is healthy to have times when we look at the meaning of life – but not endlessly, especially as there is often no answer!
Techniques To Overcome Overthinking
Susan shows you techniques to escape from overthinking, like:
- Using distraction
- Praising your achievements
- Getting active
- Journaling
- Changing focus
All her techniques are very useful and really help to put homeschooling worries in their place. As Susan says, the great danger if you don’t tackle the negative chatter in your mind you risk the biggest danger:
“Overthinking can cause us to see problems that don’t really exist, or at least aren’t as big as our thoughts make them out to be.”
~ Dr Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Women Who Think Too Much
Susan suggests that it’s a good idea to gain control by scheduling some time where you can ponder some of the issues that you are worried about.
And in terms of homeschooling, I think that’s the time when it’s good to get reassurance from fellow Moms that they share your worries – but actually, everything is going to work out fine in the end.
The Homeschooling Handbook
The Courageous Homeschooling Handbook makes homeschooling much easier and less scary by sharing top tips from over 100 families so you can see what others learned and reassure yourself that things will work out.
Happiness Books
You can find more books which will help you find the happiness you deserve here.