Mailbag: Power in Relationships, Self-Worth, Motivation, and Personal Responsibility

Forrest and Dr. Rick dive into the mailbag to answer questions from listeners. They explore age gaps in relationships, relating to people as ongoing processes, and avoiding having your personal growth practice turn you into a doormat. You’ll learn how to develop authentic self-worth, how to allow both “positive” and “negative” motivations to pull you in a good direction, and how to balance determinism with personal responsibility. The episode closes with a question about supporting people trapped in dysfunctional family systems. Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube. Key Topics: 0:00: Introduction 1:15: Question 1: I feel like my personal growth practice is causing others to take advantage of me. What can I do? 8:55: Question 2: Do age gaps in relationships matter? 19:55: Relating to others as ongoing processes 22:40: Question 3: Given all the things we don’t control, how responsible is anyone for their behavior? 28:30: Thinking in terms of plausible ranges of outcomes 33:20: Question 4: How can I learn to accept myself and improve my self-worth? 41:50: Question 5: I can’t tell if I’m motivated by “good” desires…or just my fear of never measuring up. 49:00: What comes along with challenging experiences 54:15: Question 6: How can an older sibling help a younger sibling in a dysfunctional family system? 1:04:50: Recap Support the Podcast: We're now on Patreon! If you'd like to support the podcast, follow this link. NEW Offering from Rick! Join Rick and 5 world-renowned teachers – including Dr. Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, and Thupten Jinpa – for The Heart of Compassion, a 5-week online program that will teach you how to access, grow, and apply compassion. Head to rickhanson.net/hoc to learn more, and use code BEINGWELL10 for 10% off. Sponsors: Finally get that project off the ground with Squarespace! Head to squarespace.com/beingwell for a free trial, and when you’re ready to launch use coupon code BEINGWELL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Join over a million people using BetterHelp, the world’s largest online counseling platform. Visit betterhelp.com/beingwell for 10% off your first month! Want to sleep better? Try the Calm app! Visit calm.com/beingwell for 40% off a premium subscription. Connect with the show: Subscribe on iTunes Follow Forrest on YouTube Follow us on Instagram Follow Forrest on Instagram Follow Rick on Facebook Follow Forrest on Facebook Visit Forrest's website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices