IMPACT: Parenting with Perspective

Lean Into Your Parenting Fears

February 17, 2022 Ben Pugh Episode 88
IMPACT: Parenting with Perspective
Lean Into Your Parenting Fears
Show Notes

Most People Move Away From Fear

It's natural as human beings to want to move away from fear. 

Fear is usually uncomfortable, and most humans try to move away from and avoid discomfort. 

In the past, moving away from fear served us very well, both as a species and also individually. 

As a species, moving away from scary animals and circumstances helped keep our species alive.

As individuals, avoiding scary things has helped keep you comfortable and safe.

Avoiding scary situations is a natural response.

Fear Isn't Always Bad 

Fear isn't always bad. Having a healthy fear for things that could harm you keeps you safe. Fear has the power to paralyze and the power to make you run. 

Fear can also help you grow. It's often, as we go through fear, that we grow the most. 

Things Are Rarely As Bas As You Fear

One of the things that makes human beings special is our ability to imagine and dream. 

This is seriously one of our greatest strengths, but it is also one of our greatest weaknesses.

With this ability comes the ability to catastrophize. 

If you're like me, you are a fantastic catastrophizer. You can see hundreds of ways that things could go wrong, and it's super scary. 

So, we spend tons of our energy and attention avoiding the thing that we are scared of. 

How Fear Affects You As a Parent 

Through the years that I've coached parents and teens, I've noticed a few things about fear. 

NOBODY likes how they behave when they're being driven by fear.

NOBODY!

In a conversation with one of my teen clients, he explained that when he is driven by fear, he holds back. This affects him on the basketball court, in his relationships with friends (especially cute girls), and in life in general. 

In a recent conversation with one of my parent clients, she explained that when she is driven by fear she tries to control things outside of her control. This has a negative effect on her relationship with her children, with her spouse, and it completely changes how she parents. 

When you parent from a place of fear, your brain goes into overdrive to find all the things that you "should" be scared of. 

If you're like me, fear makes you more controlling, less trusting, and it shifts your focus from things within your control to things outside of your control. 

Fear Is The Answer? 

One of the things that I've been noticing with both the parents and teens that I work with is that their fears are actually the answer. 

If you're like most parents that I work with, you have some fears about your teens.

"Are they okay?" "Will they be okay?" "What if they . . . ?"

How To Manage Your Parenting Fears

  1. Identify and Acknowledge Your Fear
  2. Mentally Go There
  3. Decide Who You Want to BE In The Face of Your Fear
  4. Explore How That Way Of BEing Would Apply To

Take the free Parent Trap quiz

If you have a teen you should take this Parent Trap Quiz .

It will help you uncover specific parenting patterns that might be hindering your relationship with your teen.
By identifying your Parent Trap, you gain the tools to have better communication, resolve conflicts, and build greater confidence in your parenting decisions.
This self-awareness ultimately strengthens your relationship with your teen, which leads to a more open and harmonious connection.

This quiz is your gateway to becoming the parent of your dreams and paving the way for a happier and healthier family life.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Already taken the quiz?
Check out my New ABSOLUTELY FREE Audio Course: Parenting from the Inside Out!
🎧
LISTEN HERE!