Being there for your kids - Are You Living on the Edge

Episode Date: April 4, 2026

Living on the edge is a precarious place to be. Not sure of your footing. Having to hold on. Too much going on. Feeling overwhelmed. People find themselves living on the edge when they use a lot of extreme words to describe their situation. Words like always, only, ever, never, should, would, could shift your references to the extreme, giving you less latitude to work through the circumstances. Modulate your words and expand your possibilities for mid-course correction. Release your stuckness and soar. Find out more in my new book, The Healing Journey: Overcoming Adversity on the Path to the Good Life. Buy your copy on amazonbooks.com with the following link: https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Journey.../dp/B0CY9PQXMZ . Blessings, Dr. Jon      

I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. Let me ask you something. Are you living on the edge? Our lives seem so frantic at times that we may feel like we're living on the edge. Planning and waiting for the next thing, looking ahead at the expense of enjoying the moment, anticipating instead of being, living on the edge is a precarious place to be. As a clinical psychologist in private practice for over 40 years, I appreciate how much words matter, inflections, nuance, double-university.

Entente, all affect the impact our words have on our decisions, on our lives. Okay, Doc, I'm glad for my appointment with you today. Amy started as she sat in my office. I have a ton of stuff to get off my chest. As Amy took a breath, I encouraged her. Okay, girl, fire away. Well, Brandon is being such a brat, she ramped up. He always gets that way when his dad is out of town on business.

And Carol, my best friend, she's hitting me up. to volunteer as homeroom mother this year for our children's third grade class. Amy looked up to the ceiling. Her face reddening. Why me? I never have time for myself, she concluded. Well, I'm exhausted. I paused. Go ahead. Get it all out. Well, Mandy and Brandon are always fighting like cats and dogs. They just pick on each other nonstop. They're my children. Why can't they just get along? Is it my life tasked to referee their fussing at each other? Am I the only one who tries to keep peace in the house? Am I losing my mind? More?

No, that's it for now. What am I doing wrong? Amy, I'm sorry you're feeling that way, I started. You're not doing anything wrong. It's not what you're doing. It's where you are. She puzzled, looking confused. Your perspective on things is keeping you stuck.

Let me guide you on your healing journey and help you soar. Donald Mikenbaum, originator of cognitive behavioral therapy and Albert Ellis, who gave us rational emotive therapy, each focused their patients on extreme words. These words define living on the edge. In Amy Sessions, she used only, never, ever, and always. Other extreme words include would, should, could, must, have to. The cute word, musturbation,

to capture difficulties with excessive use of extreme words. Challenge your use of extreme words to capture your life circumstances. If Brandon is frequently a brat when his dad is away, Amy will be more likely to manage the situation better than if she feels stuck in always land. Extreme words are problem-focused, while modulated words are more solution-focused. Amy feels less a victim and more empowered. Follow Amy's healing journey in my new book, The Healing Journey, Overcoming Adversity on the Path to the Good Life. Buy your copy on Amazonbooks.com. If my comments stir questions of your own, contact me through my website at www.orghumid.com

or email me at John Robinson 0.0.0. at bell south.net. I'm Dr. Jonathan C. Robinson, licensed clinical psychologist and author of Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting, and my new book, The Healing, The Healing, Overcoming Adversity on the Path of the Good Life. Blessings, Dr. John. Teachable Moments, Building Blocks of Christian Parenting is available online at Amazonbooks.com and in local and national bookstores. More on Dr. Robinson at TMC-P-I-N-C.com.