Waiting for an adoption can be nerve wracking, frustrating, and just downright difficult. Between waiting for that special message, to the disappointment of scammers, it’s easy to get bogged down and stuck in a negative loop. Although the circumstances warrant this uneasiness, constantly being dragged down by negative thoughts only hurt personal well-being and stress levels. Changing your perspective throughout this frustrating time can help you maintain balance and continue forward with hope in adoption. Here are some insightful ways to help keep your adoption process and attitude on the right track:
- Playing your odds – Remember you are increasing your chances through your Adoptimist profile. You never know when someone is looking, who is looking and why. While nothing is guaranteed, you know you are reaching more people than ever.
- Be Discerning. Expectant mothers come from all walks of life. Many of them are being faced with personal hardships, and can be going through emotional roller coasters. These situations, when presented to hopeful adoptive families can often come off as being contacted by “scammers”. Remember to be discerning, but also open to being contacted.
- Don’t beat yourself up. Remember that just because you are not seeing success doesn’t mean there is something wrong with you or your family. Stay true to who you are. Stay authentic. Expectant mothers come from all different backgrounds and walks of life, so there is no one family type that is more successful than another. It is best to focus on your strengths and what makes you unique as a family.
- Put your thick skin on. They never said it would be easy. The more outreach you get, the more opportunity there is to get scammed. As long as you are educated on what a scam looks like, and protect your family, prepare ahead of time to let them roll off your back in a way that works for you. Go into the situation knowing it will happen, and plan for how you might feel when it does.
- Stay in the moment. Staying positive and productive is all about not getting too focused on worrying or the anxiety of the future and things out of our control. Take action on the things you can control (updating your profile) and just keep going!
Having hope in adoption can be a long twisted road, but maintaining balance and positivity can only help you in the long run. There are many other resources on our blog to help you with different aspects of this process. Check them out now, and continue your journey with an ‘Adoptimistic’ attitude.