I’m A Selfish Homeschool Mum! Are You?

“I could never homeschool. I’m too selfish!” This is a line I’ve heard from many mothers when they find out that I homeschool. Well, as proud as that might make me feel, I know I can still be a pretty selfish person when it comes to getting through my homeschool day to day.

I’ll describe homeschool mother’s selfishness as any actions, or motive, that lacks consideration for her homeschool children; she is concerned chiefly with her own personal profit or pleasure.

I don’t start my day out intending to be selfish. It just sort of happens.

Why? Because Stuff Gets In My Way

Stuff for me might be answering emails, writing a blog post, getting the house clean, making a phone call, deciding to reorganise a cupboard, or doing some online homeschool research. It could also include just ducking down to the shops, spending time on social media, finishing off some sewing, or reading a book.

Many of these things are not selfish in themselves, it’s just that I do them at the wrong time – I’m doing them when I should really be homeschooling! I could go on, but I think you get the picture. The crux of all of these activities is that they are stuff I’d rather do than homeschooling.

I really do have good intentions but all the stuff is so tempting. I feel it calling me and I kid myself into thinking I have time to fit it in but in reality I don’t.

Can I Stop Being Selfish?

Knowing it is an issue for me makes me want to change and do better. I have met many homeschool mothers who also struggle with this very same issue.  They are not lazy women, they are usually frantically busy women.

Today I read this passage in the Bible:

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Jesus Christ…” Philippians 2:3-5

The best way I can deal with this issue of selfishness is by looking to Jesus Christ for inspiration and asking for strength from the Holy Spirit to give me a servant heart. I also need to have wisdom to make sure that I make good choices.

I wrote this post today as a reminder to me, and to other mothers that have this same struggle, that we need to be vigilant to stay on top of this selfishness?

Everything is a trade off – If you need a little motivation on what’s essential I recommend the book Essentialism.