Parents:
The teen or young adult in your life can get headed in the right direction. It is possible.
Are you feeling lost and frustrated because you cannot figure out how to help your kid unlock their potential?
As a parent you want so bad to give the young person in your life everything they need. You want them to be happy, do well in school, have lots of friends, stay out of trouble, and have an awesome life. But they are struggling and no matter what you do, you feel like an outsider. You just want them to start doing something useful.
You want to see them use those talents and abilities you know are inside them. It would make you proud to watch them enthusiastically pursue the stuff they love doing.
It is painful to know that they are struggling, unsettled, overwhelmed. And it’s massively frustrating feeling that you could help, but are not able (or allowed) to. You try out different strategies, you feel guilty about not being around more often, you wonder why other kids (and families) seem to be doing okay, you feel like a failure for not being a good parent. You are ready for it to happen, so they (and you) can feel better.
Why can’t it just be easy?!
I promise that there are ways for everyone to feel better. You can again feel the joy of being a parent, knowing that your kid is on a good path.
In fact, they would never say it or ask for it, but they desperately need you. They spend their days fighting for survival - avoiding getting teased or left out, hoping not to make a humiliating mistake, trying to meet their own expectations. They are on a mission of discovery trying to figure out who they really are while being assaulted by pressure and high expectations.
Unfortunately, right now your patience and your love get lost in your frustration, guilt, and sadness. You feel helpless and uncertain. It's no surprise you keep going back and forth between blaming them, being frustrated at their teachers, wondering about their friends, and doubting yourself.
You are tired of riding the pendulum between trying really hard and throwing your hands up and giving up.
It can be different. It does not have to be this way. There is more than the desperation and frustration.
A great place to start is with a my complementary Know Yourself workbook and bi-weekly article. The workbook is designed to help you understand the young person in your life.
If you want to feel the freedom and satisfaction of being a successful parent who is really helping your teen, you are in the right place. It is possible to do something the young adult in your life responds to and then uses to make one of those difficult decisions they face at this time of life. It’s important for you to be an essential piece of their successful navigation of this stage of their life! It might look different that you imagine it, but you can make a huge difference.
If you are done struggling and ready for some relief, here is how to get started - my complementary Know Yourself workbook and my bi-weekly yEs-zine.
If you are wondering whether we can help your particular situation, check out our Is This You? page.
"I am massively grateful that my kids are working with you. My daughter told me yesterday that she loves working with you and that it is making a big difference in her life. She feels way, way more confident than she did last semester."
Mike, father of college sophomore
"Morgan's Powerful vision should be required reading for every young person who has ever wondered, questioned, and hoped for something more out of life."
Jay Roberts, Assistant Professor of Education and Environmental Studies, Earlham College, Richmond, IN