9 Ways You Get in Your Own Way

Brave Writer

A little reminder to be present.

Ways You Get in Your Own Way:

  1. Enforcing a program you don’t like
  2. Yelling
  3. Overbooking a day’s activities
  4. Forgetting to plan a meal and snacks
  5. Not following through
  6. Losing your sense of humor
  7. Relying on your kids to be in a good mood
  8. Not trusting your curiosity and intuition
  9. Thinking about tomorrow more than today

Which one is your achilles heel?

This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!

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Brave Learning: Home-learning

Brave Learning: Home-learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

Home-learning

Let’s change the name from homeschooling to home-learning.

I’m all for innovation! We’ve got micro schools, online classes, and a huge array of co-op options in the homeschool space. Homeschooling is having a moment!

In this big shift, I want to be sure we remember one of the golden purposes of home education: we’re not just moving the location of the education, we’re also changing how that education is experienced by the child. 

This morning I stumbled on an article I used as research for one of my books. It’s an academic paper studying the effects of play and joy on learning in Finland. One of the initial assertions is that “emotions in the school world have been studied surprisingly little.” Anxiety and negative emotions get some attention, but happiness? Forget about it.

Yet joy, it turns out, is tied to a child’s experience of success. Joy in learning is the subject of this paper.

My tag line, “Joy is the best teacher” is validated by the research! [Keep reading]

Subscribe to Brave Learning on Substack where we chat, discuss, problem-solve, and create together. Here’s what you can expect: weekly themed content, freewriting prompts, and a podcast for kiddos called Monday Morning Meeting (first 6 are free)! 

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[Podcast #298] Wise Effort with Diana Hill  

Brave Writer Podcast

Have you ever felt exhausted from giving your all, yet still worried you aren’t doing enough?

In this Brave Writer podcast episode, we’re joined by Dr. Diana Hill, clinical psychologist, podcast host, and author of Wise Effort: How to Focus Your Genius Energy on What Matters Most. Diana shares her refreshing, science-based approach to reclaiming our natural strengths and using our “genius energy” wisely, rather than trying to fix ourselves or do more.

Dr. Diana Hill
Dr. Diana Hill

We explore:

  • how our gifts can sometimes get off track,
  • why honoring paradox and values leads to better solutions,
  • and how building wise habits starts with small moments of self-awareness.

Diana’s wisdom encourages us to embrace interdependence and resilience, transforming not just ourselves but our communities.

Listen to the full episode for more practical strategies and inspiration from Diana Hill on how to bring wise effort—and more joy—into your family and life.

Show Notes

A New Approach to Genius Energy

Diana Hill challenges the cultural obsession with self-improvement. Rather than suggesting we “fix” ourselves, she encourages us to notice and honor the unique “genius energy” already present in each of us—those qualities and strengths that come naturally, whether it’s emotional sensitivity, persistence, idea generation, or being a calming presence. Her approach blends psychological science with a touch of the mystical, encouraging us to see our personalities not as problems to be solved but as gifts to be directed with wisdom.

When Our Gifts Go Off Track

One of Diana’s key insights is that our greatest strengths are often double-edged swords. That genius quality—be it creativity, responsibility, or drive—can help us flourish, but when we overuse or misuse it, we risk burnout and disconnection. Diana outlines how our genius can go off track: when we get stuck in old stories about ourselves, when we use our strengths to avoid discomfort, or when we cling too tightly to familiar roles and routines. The solution is not to abandon these gifts but to become more skillful and flexible in their use.

Embracing Paradox, Prioritizing Values

Through her Wise Effort podcast and writing, Diana encourages us to welcome the paradoxes of life. We can hold multiple values at once—creativity and order, solitude and connection, responsibility and rest. Instead of treating these as conflicts to be resolved, she guides us to experiment and reflect, finding creative solutions that align with our values and our family’s needs. Sometimes, as Diana shares from her own homeschooling experience, that means brainstorming ways to honor both a child’s creative messiness and a parent’s need for calm, perhaps by moving the activity outside or creating new routines together.

Building Wise Habits, Moment by Moment

Diana’s “wise habits” framework is a refreshing alternative to traditional habit advice. Rather than rigid routines, she focuses on “choice points”—those moments when we notice ourselves drifting from our values. By pausing and checking in with our inner awareness (what Diana calls the “heart-mind”), we can make small, compassionate shifts that lead to more meaningful, regenerative effort.

The Beauty of Interdependence

Perhaps Diana’s most powerful message is the importance of interdependence. Drawing on ideas from Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, she reminds us that resilience and growth come from our connections with friends, family, and community. When we seek help, offer support, and allow others to shine in their genius, we all thrive.

Through Diana Hill’s lens of wise effort, we’re invited to move beyond exhaustion and perfectionism, discovering more joy, creativity, and connection in our daily lives. Her work is a timely reminder that our energy is precious, and when directed with wisdom, it can transform both ourselves and those we love.

Resources

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Produced by NOVA

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Small Doses of Delight

Brave Writer

You’re child won’t fall in love with every subject. You won’t manage to make all learning magical. If you and your kids discover the beauty in a single subject at any point in time, you’ve shown your child how to find it for themselves.

You don’t have to turn every aspect of childhood into an enchanted experience.

  • Sometimes you swing and you miss.
  • Sometimes your energy fails.
  • Sometimes you can’t find the angle.

Not to worry.

Once in a while, if you set the intention to make learning meaningful and you manage to bathe the subject in a little whimsy or surprise, your kids will learn how to do that for themselves.

Small doses of delight in learning lead to powerful educations that sustain kids for a lifetime!

You’ve got this!

This post is originally from Instagram and @juliebravewriter is my account there so come follow along for more conversations like this one!

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Brave Learning: Plan Their Happiness

Brave Learning

Recently on Brave Learning…

Plan Their Happiness

not only their academics…

So you’ve got your homeschool planner in front of you. You’re looking at the stack of materials you bought for the coming school year. You’ve got a calculator on the table so you can figure out what pace you must work through all those pages to wind up at the end of the year with completed programs.

Homeschool planning: calendar and program are merged into a sequence of allotted materials for 180 days for each child.

Is that what you envision?

Before you go to the trouble, let me ask you a question: In all your planning, have you also planned for your child’s happiness? [More]

Subscribe to Brave Learning on Substack where we chat, discuss, problem-solve, and create together. Here’s what you can expect: weekly themed content, freewriting prompts, and a podcast for kiddos called Monday Morning Meeting (first 6 are free)! 

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