Episode 101 — Changing Your Perspective and Story —with Wendy Adamson - a podcast by Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC

from 2021-10-13T09:00

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You may not have control over life circumstances, but you do have control over your perspective. What if instead of operating in a mindset of, “Why is this happening to me?” you shift to, “How can I use this to help others?” 

Wendy Adamson, author of Mother Load and Incorrigible, found herself stuck in the “Why is this happening to me?” mentality for most of her early adulthood. Much of her adolescent and young adult years were spent searching for anything to help her cope with childhood trauma, causing a lot of struggle in her life. It wasn’t until Wendy noticed the same patterns in her children when she decided to make a change and not allow life to get the best of her, but rather allow her and her family finally get the best out of life. Today, she finds herself working in Business Development at Polaris Teen Center, a treatment center for adolescents struggling with mental health issues. 

On this episode of Success is Subjective, Wendy joins Joanna to share her journey as she navigated childhood trauma as she went into adulthood on her own, and how she chose to use her battles as a source of hope for others. What once felt like a negative thing in Wendy’s life, she now uses to connect with parents and youth. Listen in for Wendy’s insight on how she’s managed to shift her perspective despite her past and helps others do the same. You can hear more about Wendy’s journey in her books, Mother Load and Incorrigible.

What You Will Learn

  • Wendy’s time in the juvenile justice system as an adolescent 
  • How labels are put on youth and adolescents and how that can affect them
  • How trauma wasn’t talked about at the time which resulted Wendy to resort to substances to self medicate
  • Wendy’s time in and out of jail
  • When Wendy realized she was not only hurting herself but everyone around her and she needed to make a change
  • How Wendy was able to see her son follow her past behavior 
  • The huge perspective shift that Wendy made from “Why is this stuff happening to me, to how can I use this experience to help someone else?”
  • What motivated Wendy during the process of writing both of her books
  • How Wendy has changed her generational trajectory
  • How helpful other people’s stories can be in providing hope

Connect with

 Connect with Joanna Lilley  

Further episodes of Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay

Further podcasts by Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC

Website of Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC