There is nothing more important than your child’s mental health (TRIGGER WARNING)

(TRIGGER WARNING - Please be advised this content contains information that can be triggering for some)

When I was 15, I made an attempt on my life. I swallowed a whole packet of pain medication. My parents found me and took me to hospital and my stomach was pumped and I was given charcoal to drink.

I had parents who loved me. I had good friends. And a comfortable life.

So you may be wondering what in the world possessed me to do such a thing?

What was really happening was I’d never learned how to bounce back from adversity. I had extremely low self-esteem and my perfectionism ran so deep that if I did something wrong, I couldn’t forgive myself.

This was one of those times when I couldn’t forgive myself. And I felt I had no choice. 

So even if I had good grades, good health, a nice house to live in and food on the table. I didn’t have one of the most important, if not THE most important resource for my life, my mental health. 

For years I suffered from anxiety and depression, well into my 30’s. Until, I learned about how to connect to how I feel and how to build unshakeable resilience.

That does not mean, I never have dark thoughts, I do. But I have the mindset strategies and tools to work my way through these thoughts and feelings.

I’ve been using these tools for the past decade, I’ve noticed that who I am is emerging more confidently, more strongly. And because I feel good about myself, I show up as the truest version more of the time. 

My creativity has been unleashed and I’m confident to create my own path. Because I know how to pick myself up when I’m down, I know my worth and I know who I am.

So for the past decade I’ve focused on developing and refining the leadership skills that help children build their mindset, courage and resilience to be who they are. 

It has been my obsessive focus. And I’ve learnt that people with a good mental wellbeing achieve and succeed more than I ever thought possible. 

With my own children, we haven’t focused on grades or any other external measure, to measure their worth (which hasn't been easy when it's how most of the world is measured).

In fact my 15 year old just got told today that his film is a Top 10 finalist out of hundreds of entries nationally and three rounds of judging. And of course we are excited for him. But for his mental health, he needs to know we are proud of them ALL of the time, not just when he receives external validation. 

Achievement and results are important with the right mindset (ie not attached to them) but if you’re only taking action to “succeed” and ignoring mental health, the consequences are detrimental and not worth it, in my opinion.

I want them to know it’s okay to fail and do things wrong - and it doesn’t mean they are failing as person (like I once believed). They’ve made a mistake and can bounce back from it. 

Teaching a child they have nothing to prove to anyone but themselves is one of THE most important things we can teach our children for them to feel free to explore life, make mistakes and be who they uniquely are in the world. 

The leadership skills I teach enable you to develop your child’s mindset, courage and unshakeable resilience. If you’d like to learn more about these skills and discover your parent leadership style, join me in my free on-demand masterclass today.