Christine: You are listening to the Your Empty Nest Coach podcast, with Coach Christine, episode number 18: How to Get Rid of Guilt. … I appreciate you so very much. Let’s dive right into this episode, Mom Guilt: How to Get Rid of Mom Guilt. This doesn’t need to be a long episode.
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Christine: You are listening to the Your Empty Nest Coach podcast, with Coach Christine, episode number 18: How to Get Rid of Guilt. This podcast is for you, a mother who years ago walked away from a career to raise your child. Sure, you’ve been busy volunteering, car pools, maybe part-time work and taking care of everyone. But your main gig, that has been your child. Now, that they are in their later years of high school, the empty nest looms ahead for you and it is freaking you out. I’ve been there and I get it. Together, we’ll turn our freaking out energy into freaking awesome energy.
00:00:36
Hello, my empty nest friend! Thanks for listening today. I appreciate you so very much. Let’s dive right into this episode, Mom Guilt: How to Get Rid of Mom Guilt. This doesn’t need to be a long episode. Guilt, my empty nest friend, this is one more thing that you control. If you have guilt, you’re making yourself feel that way, through the thoughts you are having. No one is making you feel guilty, and end of episode.
00:01:13
Was that too short? Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe you were raised in a house that oozed of talking of guilt, or even a religion that encourages guilt. Maybe you’ve told yourself that you are making things better if you feel guilty about something in the past. Your guilty feeling is something you are choosing, by having thoughts that led you there. You having feelings of guilt changes nothing about another human being. You can’t control them anyway, so while you’re at home with mom guilt about doing something for yourself, or something that happened in the past, the only person you are impacting in that very moment, is you. You, and only you. Whether the guilt is that you didn’t clean the house for three weeks, or your guilt is over something that is quite serious that happened in the past. You having feelings of guilt serves no purpose other than to make you feel bad in your current moment.
00:02:12
Do you like feeling bad? Why are you bullying yourself like that? Would you let someone talk to your kids the way your thoughts are talking to you? You don’t believe me? Next time you catch yourself feeling guilty, I want you to take a piece of paper out and write down the inner dialogue, the thoughts, that you are having. Write them all down. Of course, no editing. I want you to read them as if someone else is saying those thoughts to someone you love. Are they kind? Are they true? Would you allow yourself to sit there while someone else said those things to another person? Do you want to keep those thoughts? This is the best part. You don’t have to keep them. You get to choose. Remember to observe your thoughts with fascination and decide if they are something you want to keep.
00:02:58
Whatever you do, don’t decide to choose thoughts that make you feel guilty about the thoughts you are having. We do this to ourselves, too. Look, you are having thoughts, just because they pop in your head, doesn’t make them true. Observe them, and figure out if they serve you. It is this simple, not easy, but simple. If you have guilt, you are choosing thoughts that make you feel guilty. No one else is making you feel that way. Choose something different, my friend. Find thoughts that give you a different feeling. Thoughts that you believe and feelings that you consciously want. Choose you. Choose kindness to yourself.
00:03:37
Feel like you’re missing something? Head back to my Empty Nest Prep episodes, they start in episode 3, to learn more about your thoughts and feelings. The questions that I have for you in this episode are:
1) Do you have mom guilt?
And,
2) is there something you want to do, but you are afraid of feeling guilty about doing?
Fly on over to our Facebook group. Our name is the Green Popsicle Sticks. Want to know why? Listen to episode 17, or head to my website, youremptynestcoach.com/community for links to join our flock.
00:04:09
Why should you join our group? The adjustment to not having your kiddos at home full time isn’t always easy, but it sure can be a ton more fun with a flock of friends. We look forward to seeing you there. As always, I provide content to make you think, my empty nest friend. My hope is that I’m able to provide you with thoughts that impact your life in a positive way. My next episode’s title is Let’s Talk About Extracurriculars, and I have a guest. But first, remove that mom guilt, please!
00:04:40
Can you do me a favor? If you could take the time to subscribe to this podcast, that would be fantastic! It is free, and you’ll be notified when a new episode goes live. If you have an extra moment to give this podcast a five-star rating, it will help other future empty nest mothers to find it when they need it. Thanks for your time and energy with that, and thanks so much for listening, my empty nest friend. Remember, you are amazing!
