Parenting Great Kids Podcast - Episode 179
Helping Teens Overcome Self-Defeating Thoughts
with guest Jon Acuff
Hosted by Dr. Meg Meeker | October 4, 2022 | 38 min

Today's Guest(s)
Jon Acuff is the New York Times bestselling author of eight books, including Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking. When he’s not writing or recording his popular podcast, All It Takes Is a Goal, Acuff can be found on a stage as one of INC’s Top 100 Leadership Speakers. Known for his insights wrapped in humor, Acuff’s fresh perspective on life has given him the opportunity to write for Fast Company, the Harvard Business Review, and Time magazine.
EPISODE NOTES
Name something you want to do and then write down your first thoughts… Are they positive and encouraging? Or negative and self-critical? How we speak to and about ourselves is vitally important – not only to ourselves, but also to future generations. Our teens are watching us, listening to us – What we do, what we say, what we believe, how we act. A parent’s view of anything, and how we speak about it, can instill either positivity or negativity in our teens. The good news is that we get to choose our thoughts, and our words! We can choose to think and speak positively about ourselves, overcoming self-defeating thoughts, and we can teach our teenagers to do the same.
Don’t miss this encouraging episode, where Jon Acuff discusses:
- Watching out for absolutes (Asking yourself 3 questions about what you’re telling yourself)
- Disbelieving lies and embracing truth
- Being brave enough to be “bad” at something new
- Performance & Teens: Reinforcing character strengths over performance
- Individual and Family “Soundtracks”
- How speaking the truth about yourself will help you speak the truth about others
- Learning to be the best version of yourself – Don’t tell your teen that they can be anything they want to be.. Kids are smarter than we think and they know that’s not really true. Instead, tell them, “You can be the best You that there is.. Be the very best version of yourself!”
FROM THE PRODUCER
Thanks for listening to Episode #179, Helping Teens Overcome Self-Defeating Thoughts, and for helping Dr. Meg’s parenting revolution reach more than FIVE MILLION downloads!
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