4 Comments
May 9Liked by Dr. Austin Johnson, PhD

This is great. I recall a supervisor sometimes starting a conversation with something like "I'm really frustrated by X. How about you?" It immediately conveys a sense that they're on the same team and makes it easier to shift everyone's energy toward tackling the problem together.

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I love it. It’s amazing how a short, simple phrase can do so much heavy lifting.

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May 8Liked by Dr. Austin Johnson, PhD

I appreciate the concept of showing your work. One thing my husband and I do with our kids is we walk them through the thought path we took to get to the point of addressing something with them. For example, (after having to spend several minutes rehanging and reorganizing most of her closet) I talked with my daughter about it. I said, “in order for me to have free time to spend with you, I have to get all of my chores done. So what do you think happens when I have to spend extra, unexpected time doing your chores instead of my own?” She thought about it and realized that it ate up my extra time that I could have spent with her. The lesson was much more meaningful than if I had just fussed at her.

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Oh wow. Perfect example. It’s too easy to get into the mindset of either unloading our frustrations on our kids or acting as though they don’t have any impact on our emotions/energy at all. That’s such a great example of taking the third path.

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