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3 Things My Parents Couldn’t Teach Me
As well-intentioned as they were, my parents (like all of yours) fell short in guiding me into adulthood. They’re not perfect and with age you come to understand that. I’ve even realized that other kids would’ve thrived better under my parents. If I have kids of my own, it’s likely I’ll mess up too.
Having said that, there’s some things that I had to learn and I also tried to teach them.
1. How to heal
Ironically, this begins with my mom’s stellar advice to me when I was a teenager to journal how I felt about things in life. I’m one of those introverts where writing out my feelings or talking to others helps me to see/hear if my thoughts and feelings are accurate. I should do it more often but when I do, things get cleared up pretty easily. Hell, writing is what I do for a living!
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. There was trauma I suffered in childhood that writing couldn’t fix. To heal, I had to go within. I had to feel the pain that I had been running away from for years.
For some people, this is difficult because if they feel, they may spiral. Journaling and talking with others works very well for people who get stuck in emotional tailspins. I’m just a guy who does well with both.
