![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mom-gene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Screen-Shot-2017-09-05-at-2.02.41-PM.png?resize=673%2C451\")
<\/p>\n
1 |\u00a0Take a break from the problem and do what you can do<\/h1>\n
You\u2019re in the middle of sleep regression or potty training or sixth grade algebra and you cannot see your way through to the end. That\u2019s okay. Focus on what you can do: three meals a day, car naps, fifth grade math. Hitting your high notes in both work and parenting builds confidence that will help you can take the pressure off when everything\u2019s not working perfectly. You have your strong points as a parent. Use them.<\/p>\n
2 | Give it the hard sell<\/h1>\n
Ads are designed to make you want that perfect outfit, job, car, or vacation. They show you all the shiny sides of it. The problem with family though is that you\u2019re in it, day in and day out. You\u2019re bound to see the dents and scratches. This is when you need the hard sell. Try describing your family to someone not in the muck with you and hit all the highlights, all the good stuff. You\u2019ll begin to notice the points that are working in your favor. Focus on those and not the pee spot on the rug that wasn\u2019t there a moment ago.<\/p>\n
3 | Relocate<\/h1>\n
There\u2019s a reason people hold business meetings in coffee shops or work from home one day a week. If the \u201csights, sounds and smells of the physical place\u201d can influence your creativity on the job, they can do the same for your parenting. If you\u2019re feeling stodgy in your routine, take the kids somewhere new to eat, to play, and to explore and let the new environment revitalize you as much as them.<\/p>\n
4 |\u00a0Think big picture<\/h1>\n
The longer you work on something, the less perspective you have on it. It\u2019s easy to look at a colicky five-week-old and seriously doubt your ability to make it to 18. But that season will pass. Whatever hard part of parenting you\u2019re in right now will pass. This works in reverse too. Maybe your kids are tweens and entering what might be the most harrowing time for the entire family: adolescence. Look back and remember all you have survived already and know that you will again. The bigger the picture, the easier it is not to get sucked under by the moment.<\/p>\n
5 | Step away<\/h1>\n
Sometimes, no matter how many angles you use to approach a problem, you still can\u2019t see your way past it. That\u2019s when it\u2019s time to step away. One study conducted by the University of California and the University of York found that over 40 percent of our most creative ideas come during time away from work. So, get yourself out of the house without the kids for five minutes, an hour, or a weekend, and give your mind and body a rest. When you let your mind wander, it might just wander to a point<\/a>.<\/p>\n Parenting is a long-term contract. It\u2019s the biggest project you\u2019ll ever complete. It\u2019s only natural that you\u2019d hit a wall every now and then. But there are ways to work around it, just like any professional might, so that you can be as brilliant as you once thought when you first signed on for this gig.<\/p>\n *This article originally appeared on Parent.co<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019ve been working on a project for so long that it no longer makes sense. It no longer feels unique or revolutionary or even coherent. The brilliant idea that got you going in the first place now sounds inane. How did anyone think you were ever smart? What is true in the workplace is true in parenting too. In the beginning, you\u2019re running on endorphins and noble statutes that you feel certain will become the …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3519,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[21,86,26],"tags":[78,97,46,332,209,55,136,63,54,379,84,100,207,163,58,15,90,203],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mom-gene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/perspective.jpg?fit=1920%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ca5p-UH","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3515"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3521,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3515\/revisions\/3521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mom-gene.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}