166. Then and Now: Sharing Hard Earned Wisdom and Mindful Perspective About the College Application Process

The Mindful Healers Podcast with Dr. Jessie Mahoney and Dr. Ni-Cheng Liang

The college application process is an invitation. An inivitation to tell good stories and grow love, and connection.

Mindfulness and mindset coaching can help make the college application journey you had or will have about growth, learning, and love.

This is yet another episode in our Parent with Presence series. Please note that this episode will also be relevant to anyone who has ever applied to college and/or told stories about their childhood.

Webegin the episode with a celebration of the abundant compendium of Parent with Presence offerings over the last three years.

Anthology of Our Previous Parent with Presence episodes:

26. What to Do When You Parent Differently

42. Parent with Presence Instead of Worry

45. What to do When Parenting is A Lot

61. Savor All the Moments of Parenthood

63. Cultivating Mindful Families

65. Stop Trying to Fix Your Kids

67. Teen Mental Health

71. How to Be An Even Better Mom

78. Parent from Abundance: Step Out of The Rat Race

93. Coaching in Action - Helping A Mama Bear Find Relief From Anxiety

124. Great Parenting is Often Messy

134. Mindful Wisdom from a New Grandmother

142. Navigating Transitions Tips from a New Dad

150. Parenting Your Athlete with Presence

151. Tips to Launch Your Young Adult Children with Love

166. The Invitation of the College Application Process

The stories you tell about the college applications process are a window into how you frame things.

These stories you tell about your own experience is important.

Many of us use our college application experience as a litmus test of how well we were loved, supported, respected, and trusted by our parents.

No matter what you do and how you show up for your children's college application process, your child will tell their own story.

Wisdom and mindful perspective on the process

Remember it is a process.

Accept and allow that it will be stressful.

Remember it is an opportunity and an invitation.

It's an opportunity for connection, growth and learning -- for you and your child.

It will require regular hand to heart.

Why?

Because college applications activate many of our default thought patterns and trigger insecurities

• catastrophizing

• negative what ifs

• worrying

• scarcity mindset

• dislike of uncertainty

• Judgment as to whether we are adequate as a mom

• Desire to control things outside our control

We tend to tell big scary stories about what the outcome means about both our child's potential for life success and our success as a parent.

Mindful Tips for Navigating the Process More Buoyantly

1. Awareness of your patterns.

2. Loving amusement

3. Set an intention such as love, generosity, kindness, being a lighthouse or a tree

4. Check in with your future self A LOT. Make her proud

5. Tell good stories

6. Be curious

7. Show up with unconditional love

8. Trust the process

9. Be patient

10. Enjoy the process

11. Connect with abundance

12. Learn from each other

One of the absolute best things you can do as a parent is to learn to parent mindfully. The earlier you start the better.

No matter how old your kids are, if you can learn to incorporate many of these concepts into your parenting now, your life and theirs will be better.

Set yourself up for future success, connection, and love by joining Jessie for Parent with Presence in the Spring of 2024. www.jessiemahoneymd.com/parent

A retreat is another amazing option to refill your tank, create capacity, and shift your perspective. A retreat will inspire, empower, and enable you to move forward as a calm, present and more mindful parent.

www.jessiemahoneymd.com/retreats

If you want to develop a mindfulness practice or need a speaker for your group, both Dr. Mahoney and Dr. Liang specialize in this.

Dr. Liang www.awakenbreath.org

Dr. Mahoney https://www.jessiemahoneymd.com/speaking

*Nothing in this episode is medical advice.