This might be too transparent, I am sorry.. but I do have a point.
I was having a conversation with Steph the other day..
"You know, we have the ability to break the cycle," I said.
"What does that mean?"
And I paused for a moment, and then tried to collect my thoughts.
As I have gotten older, I've realized that so many people in our lives, both past and present, blame their behavior on their past situations.
My grandfather came from a situation where there was no time for love, yet plenty of time for punishment. So hitting was considered normal. Didn't matter the gender.
My mom then became a victim, and so did my uncle and aunt...and my mom lived her life over-compensating and not standing up for herself properly.
And my uncle and aunt died in their 30's and 40's self medicating .. everyone trying to break the cycle or at least escape it.
My dad had alcoholic parents, so therefore he didn't know how to be a parent because he wasn't shown love. It became the excuse for him to walk out, whether he realized it in the moment or not. He still hasn't been back.
And so all of us come from a situation where we can easily blame our past as to why we have shortcomings today. And lots of us run, because it's easier. Facing the truth and trying to be better takes too much effort, and time, and money..and afterall, we are broken..Please validate that it's not our fault, it's how we grew up.
And this is where I call bull****
Because yes, we all come from situations..But ours is a generation where we can finally say...
Enough!
We are the people that can see how our behavior is affected by our upbringing. And we all have a choice.
Excuses..
Or positive change.
Do you always punish your kids, do you let them get away with everything, or can you realize that the healthy spot is in the middle?
Do you create relationships or create space?
Are you submissive or aggressive?
Van Halen or Van Hagar?
YOU can break the cycle.
Have those conversations with someone you love or with yourself.
We all know what our parents could've done better. Use that as motivation, continue to love them, and stop making excuses.
Beat the cycle. Prayer helps too. Like, a lot.
And so I told Steph we can overcome if we acknowledge where we've been, and where we're headed...If we collaborate on how we can provide for our kids so that they don't have excuses to overcome. We can..
Break the cycle.
Van Halen..Although Right Now ranks in my top 10.
All my best as you figure out life and the relationships in it.
XOXO Glenn
