Conscious parenting allows us to look within, allows us to consider what are the patterns that we have been living our life after. Do we want to continue those? Do we want to change those? We all have the ability to change whatever it is we want to change.

Self-parenting is the kindest, most generous and impactful act. Some of the ways you can start is by pausing throughout your days to notice yourself, to notice the sensations you feel in your body, perhaps the emotions, maybe the thoughts.

Trauma is not just the event itself, it's how we experience it. For one person, they may be traumatized by something that someone else isn't.

We look at the past so that we can grieve our losses... But when we never look back, we just push things down. We minimize. We turn a blind eye. We suppress and repress. We stay stuck. 

Another way codependency shows up is by one person neglecting their own needs because remember they're so hyper focused on everyone else. They're so focused on keeping the peace, on making sure things are all stable around them, trying to create a sense of safety without so they feel safety within.

It is possible to embody those parts of yourself that you thought were lost, that are so far in the past that you wonder, will I ever be like that version of myself again? Yes, you can be if you want to be. Yes, there are ways to be that and to be who you are today and to allow them to blend together in this beautiful way.

It’s very natural that we're gonna look at the caregivers, the parental figures we had, and in many ways we're gonna model them. We're gonna look up to them with respect and admiration, no matter whether they deserved it or not. And we're going to create a life that mirrors the one that we saw, the one that we experience, the one that we heard about.

I've done this complete turnaround where now I say, all right, I'm actually gonna slow down to be able to notice what I'm feeling and sit with the discomfort of it. I'm going to slow down the pace of my life so that I'm not depleted and exhausted. I'm going to live in a way that not just gives my children choice, but gives me choice.

I love you bringing up this idea that we engage with the voice of critic because we open ourselves up to understanding more about us instead of just shutting it down because we're afraid of it or because of all the other reasons. I just, I could feel that so deeply when you bring in that element. And I do think there's a key there. 

We all deserve to get to talk about how it is for us living our life, how it is for us, managing our emotions throughout our days. This is not an easy thing to do. 

When it comes to conscious parenting and faith practices, I think it's really important that we allow ourselves to have permission to do it differently than our parents or the others that we respect are doing. It's easy to compare. It's easy to allow judgment to come in the way.

Really, this is a moment to reflect on this idea that when we're told, listen and do without question. We lose our autonomy. We give up our own individuality, our personalities. We stop using the mind we were given in the fullness of what we could be using it for.

Well, the point isn't to do it perfectly. Give yourself permission to make mistakes. Because if you've been conditioned to think doing life perfectly is the goal, then I want to invite you to this restful place that actually changes that scenario and says, what if it's not? What if perfection isn't the goal?

We've been taught to fight against our bodies our whole lives and that doesn't need to be the case.

I had to learn to be flexible. As a mom, that's the harder piece for me of the, like, nothing is going to go according to my plans, and so learning to not just plan, but actually create plans that you can roll with because life never goes the way you think when you're a mom. So that's more the middle I had to find. 

Start small. When we start too big we can't sustain it. We get overwhelmed and then quit

It's hard to recognize (burnout) because when you are in it it doesn't feel like that it just feels like everything has to be done so you don't have time for a break.

There's nothing wrong with being a perfectionist if that's kind of your goal, but having that mindfulness to say, whoa, hold up, you're going in the wrong direction for the wrong reason.

The fingertip forward is key because when you're trying to make a change, it's really important to think about the small things that you can do consistently because that's really what brings change. If we were to think about it, a big change is more like a trauma, right? So you don't go for big change. You go for the small, consistent change.

Imperfect action beats perfect action every single time! Let’s sit with that and consider what it would mean for our lives if we stopped waiting and took the leap. Kate shares how we can change from living with a fixed mindset to experience the benefits to a growth mindset.