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Welcome to video 8 in our challenge series! This challenge is created to help you make the space in your life to begin your journey to Empty Nest Success. Don't hesitate to log in and ask questions in the comment section!

💬 Comments: scroll down below the transcript section. ⬇️

📓 Journal Prompt (optional):

Remember to be kind to yourself as you notice your stories: be curious and kind.

What story do you tell about your child(ren)'s future?

Out of the millions of ways and details that could be the future story for your child (emerging adult), what are you choosing to focus on?

Are you able to tell your future-story without centering it around your child(ren)?

Do you like the story you have?

What would you change about it?

Do you need to tell the story at all?

📓 Journal quotes to consider:

We like to tell stories about our child(ren)'s future - stories that may never happen!

It is worth editing the story I tell about my child's future!

Let's be real, unless you have time-traveled, you have no idea what their future holds.

In the future, my child is happy, loves life, and knows who they are.

🧰 Add a Toolbox Item:

was there something today that brought you joy/made you laugh/got your creative juices going? If not, take a look at this list for some ideas of things you may want to try in the future.

💁‍♀️Resources:

• Free Companion Workbooks Video & Access (PDF/Google Sheet)
• Supercharge your results with empty nest private coaching!
• C.E.O. Toolbox podcast episode list
• Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts | Podcast in this space

📃 Full Transcript (transcribed by otter.ai)

Beautiful soul, amazing human, welcome to video eight in the 30-Day Challenge to Empty Nest Success! thrilled that you are continuing along this journey. And today we talk about the story that we tell about our child's future. Anytime that we are talking about the future, we are in imaginary-land, we are creating something that may or may not ever happen. And if the thing that you are thinking about comes true, and it is not something that's positive for you, you're gonna have the resources in that moment (in that present moment) to be able to deal with it.

How do I know this? Because you've gotten this far in life. So, if you are telling stories about the future - about your children, check on what those stories are, what the thoughts you have are about their future, and how are they making you feel? If they aren't making you feel good write a new story. Often, I like to talk about, imagine that we are picking ourselves up like Google Earth satellite view, has that little person and you can move them along and drop them on Street View. And I like to imagine that when we are telling stories about the future- when we are guessing what will happen in the future - It's like we pick ourselves up and we drop ourselves in a specific place - a moment. But meanwhile, there are a million ways this could play out. So if we are taking ourselves. And we are dropping ourselves into that this story into this moment, and we are spending time in our present moment, picking ourselves up, dropping us there, we have absolutely no resources to deal with that. Our mind is treating that story as if it is true now. But it's not [and] may never be. And the present? We're currently missing. Because we're telling that future story.

So there's a few ways you can go with this. Journal it out and see if you're feeling - are you living more in the future? Are you living more in the past? Are you living more now (present)? But for this one, catch yourself when you talk about your child's future, (especially to them) catch your thoughts on what what you're thinking about - And anything you say out loud? monitor it, be kind to yourself, you're gonna say things that aren't perfect. This is - we're human. But having the ability to notice what you're thinking and what you're saying and to tune in to how it makes you feel, how it plays out? And how would you change that story? So that you feel better going forward? Do you need to tell the story at all?

That's a really good question. [I'm] Gonna add it to the journal today. So here's the video. Enjoy it, and see you next time. You're amazing.

Today's topic, your children's future. What's your story? As a parent thinking about the future can quickly lead into thinking about your child's future. And boy, do we like to tell stories about their future, don't we? Stories that may never happen! Such as "you're gonna end up homeless because of the major they've chosen" "They'll never be good with money at this rate." My amazing empty nest friend, unless you have time traveled you have no idea what their future holds. What about a story like this: "In the future, my child is happy loves life and knows who they are." Sounds nice, doesn't it? Don't forget you are amazing!