Judgmental Speech
Hey, Brain. How are you?
Not great. I'm such a failure.
Why do you say that?
My kids just don't listen. If I was a good mom, my kids would listen. That's why I'm a failure.
In some of the first meetings
Fear
Ok, I’m not going to lie. I’ve had a hard few weeks. I know what things I'm struggling with, but I couldn't figure out why I was struggling with them. (By the way, I'm still struggling with them.)
Then the other day
Meeting People Where They're At
Throughout the decades society has held expectations:
* Wives should have dinner on the table when their husbands get home from work.
* Toddlers should behave well in public at all times.
* We should keep our homes spotless.
* Women should have perfect bodies.
* Children should have perfect grades.
* We should be able
Boundaries
A few weeks ago [www.howareyoubrain.com/choices/] I wrote about scenarios that
present the chance to make intentional choices. As a kind of follow-up, I wanted
to talk about boundaries.
All of the scenarios I listed related to my relationship with other people. And
more often than not, I
Balance
With so much going on in my life, I often struggle feeling balanced. Starting in
the mornings, I have to:
* Do personal gospel study
* Say my prayer
* Wake up my son
* Make my son breakfast
* Wake the girls up for family prayer
* Get my son to school
* Make breakfast for
Choices
> "The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice."
George EliotEach day I see how much more important it is to be intentional when
making choices. We make choices all day, every day. Most choices are not between
right and wrong. Most are simply about our
Shame vs. Guilt
Hey, Brain. How are you?
> I feel guilty about going to that activity tonight.
Why do you feel guilty about that?
> Honestly, I feel guilty leaving our husband with the kids because the kids are
supposed to bathe tonight and the kitchen is still a mess and and
Finding Safe People
Hey, Brain. How are you?
> I'm not great. I feel really alone.
I think we're keeping a lot in. What if we share what we're feeling with
someone?
> I just don't know who to talk to.
Why don't
Honest Recognition
Hey, Brain. How are you?
> I am fine
What about that outburst we had a little bit ago? That didn't seem fine.
> I was just stressed. I'm fine now.
That has been happening regularly. Maybe something else is going on.
> You're
This is me.
Hi, Brain! How are you today?
> I'm fine.
"Fine" is code for "I want to talk." So tell me: what's going on?
> I feel like I failed today because I didn't get anything done.
I'm sorry