Britt

Discipline isn’t punishment. It’s not beating yourself up. It’s the practice of choosing the difficult thing over and over again until it becomes a normal part of your day.

Children don't need protection from the world. They need to learn how to cope with the world. This comes from hearing no, from allowing them deal with disappointment, and from facing the natural consequences of their actions. They don't need tough love, they need adults who believe fully in their capability.

Someone needs to hear this: pretending something wasn’t painful and didn’t affect you is denial. You can drink, work nonstop, chase relationships, or do anything else to hide from it—but the pain won’t go away until you have the courage to heal from it.

If you want someone to listen to you, don’t lecture them. Ask them questions. Remind them how much you love them. Let them feel heard, and they’ll hear you too.

Are you contacting them because you want closure or because you want a different outcome? Let that answer guide your decision.

Unpopular opinion: the greatest threat to humanity is ourselves. Our lack of emotional maturity. Our inability to communicate effectively. How so few adults can navigate conflict with empathy. We're at war with ourselves and each other. We need healing.

Self care sometimes looks like refusing to engage with someone committing to misunderstanding you.

How to develop emotional maturity: Practice "don't join them." Observe someone being highly reactive or trying to trigger you and just notice. Stay in your body. Notice you don't need to join their emotional state. Empower yourself to disconnect. To walk away. Emotionally mature people don't take on the emotions of those around them. They ground in their own.

The more emotionally healthy you are, the more people will try to pull you into old patterns. Your changes trigger their insecurities.