Being there for your kids - Is Your Skying Falling?

Episode Date: November 14, 2025

ONe of the most difficult things for folks who are stuck is to overcome absolute thinking. Chicken Little ranted in a panic about his conviction that the sky is falling. This is a folklore example of extreme, debilitating anxiety. Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh's friend ambled around believing that everything was absolutely aweful and would never change. This is a folklore example or reactive depression. In my new book, The Healing Journey: Overcoming Adversity on the Path to the Good Life, I share with you means for overcoming your stuckness and beginning to soar. Check it out.

Hi, I'm Dr. John Robinson, and this is Teachable Moments. Let me ask you something. Is your sky falling? In recent podcasts, I shared with you the first two mental pathways on your healing journey from stuckness to soaring through your adversities. Those pathways were, number one, your journey away from focusing on what's wrong to embracing what's right, and number two, your journey away from a one-and-done mindset, which generates instability, and toward becoming more resilient. Today, I share with you the third of the five paths on your healing journey.

To get unstuck and to begin soaring, you will also need to be on your journey away from believing the sky is falling, which breeds fear, and toward embracing critical thinking. In children's stories, Chicken Little was famous for running around in a panic, declaring loudly that the sky was falling. He churned up himself and those around him for no reason. Ultimately, the sky did not fall and all was well. From this story, we get a clear description of irrational panic and anxiety. Many of the poo stories for children also reflect the absolute faulty thinking that is an excellent description of reactive depression. The donkey, IOR, repeatedly offers Christopher Robin and others his negative anticipations with comments.

like, woe is me. Ain't it awful. I can't stand it. It'll never be all right. Take note, my friend. The sky is not falling. It ain't awful. You will get over what you're going through. The key is to take the path away from believing the sky is falling and embracing critical thinking. Instead of panicking in your circumstances, you will find yourself being calmer, more focused on solutions, and beginning to soar. I tell you, Doc, this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Brandon was sweating and beginning to hyperventilate as he started sharing with me. Okay, buddy, I started mirroring deeper breathing. Take a breath, slow down, walk me through it.

Brandon calmed down noticeably and then told me about his being fired from his job of 15 years. He was middle management and was told only that the company was downsizing and that his position was no longer needed. What am I going to do? Our two girls are 10 and 7, and Carol is due in three months with our son. I sure didn't see this coming. Using the components of mental intelligence psychotherapy, that is MPT, I challenged Brandon to make two piles,

one for those things over which he has control, and the other for those things over which he has no control. I then asked him to rank the items in each pile on emotional intensity from 1 to 10. These two exercises got him thinking more clearly and forging ideas, and activities to regain emotional control. His sky was not falling so much as he embraced more critical thinking. Learning to think mindfully,

staying in the now, increases your sense of control and clears the fog away so you can think more critically. Positive psychology helps you focus on what's working and clears a path forward. Cognitive restructuring helps you turn what you saw as a curse

into a blessing. In my new book, The Healing Journey, Overcoming Adversity on the Path of the Good Life, you can read more about how Brandon figured this all out. Buy your copy at Amazonbooks.com. If these comments stir questions of your own, contact me through my website at www.org therefrommykids.com or email me at John Robinson.0.0.bilsouth.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 Journey, 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.