Teen confidence isn’t something your kid either “has” or doesn’t have; it’s something we can build. In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 core skills I teach teens and young adults to help them move from anxiety and avoidance into real self-trust and forward motion.

I also share a story about a young adult I worked with who felt stuck after Covid, isolated, anxious, and disconnected from her life, until she found a pathway back to herself through creativity, new friendships, and small steps that created real momentum (including college planning and financial aid).

In this episode, I cover:

• Why confidence starts with identity and values (not approval, grades, or social pressure)
• How to help teens build believable positive self-talk (no fake affirmations)
• The simple language shift that helps teens stop identifying with negative labels like “I’m anxious” or “I’m a procrastinator”
• Why doing hard, uncomfortable things regularly is one of the fastest ways to build self-belief
• How friendships, media, and environment shape confidence, and how to help teens choose better inputs

Want support for your teen?

If your teen is struggling with anxiety, self-doubt, low motivation, procrastination, or feeling stuck, 1:1 coaching can be one of the fastest ways to create real change. My coaching programs Ignite and Rise Up support teens and young adults (ages 12–24) with tools, accountability, and mentorship.

✅ Book a free discovery call to learn more and see if Rise Up or Ignite is a fit.

🌿 Learn more about Guided Passages: https://guided-passages.com

Today I’m sharing some thoughts I’ve been sitting with as I look at what’s happening in the world, and in everyday life. I keep coming back to the same idea: we’re missing clear pathways into adulthood. This episode is about what initiation is, what changes when young people are actually guided through it, and why rites of passage is at the heart of what we do at Guided Passages.

Key takeaways:

• New freedoms come with new responsibilities: adulthood isn’t a free-for-all—it’s a role with impact, power, and accountability
• Initiated vs. uninitiated adulthood: what maturity looks like in real life (regulation, repair, boundaries, integrity, contribution)
• Why rites of passage matter: without healthy thresholds, people often create their own—sometimes in risky or destructive ways
• A simple framework: severance → threshold → incorporation (and why being witnessed matters)
• Why nature + mentorship are essential teachers: the land as mirror, truth-teller, and reconnecting force—and mentors who “light the path”

Guided Passages Summer 2026 Rites of Passage Trips

Middle School Trip (incoming 7th–incoming 9th): 5-day Marble Mountain Wilderness backpacking trek + 6-hour solo
High School Girls (ages 15–18): 7-day trek + 24-hour solo

Learn More: Wilderness Trips - Guided Passages

Free Workshop: The Teen Confidence Breakthrough

Thursday, January 22 at 10:00am Pacific
How to help your teen or young adult move from anxiety and avoidance to confidence and action.

RSVP Here: https://youth.guided-passages.com/teen-confidence-breakthrough-live-workshop-january

If you want your teen to actually come to you, especially when things get messy, these 10 communication pitfalls are the patterns to notice, interrupt, and replace with more connected communication. In this short episode, we’re talking about the subtle habits that can create disconnection and erode trust with your teen, often without us realizing it.

The 10 Communication Pitfalls:

• Fixing / advising in the meltdown moment
• Minimizing
• Guilt trips
• Boundary policing + micromanaging
• Needing to be right
• Labels + “always/never” statements
• Not apologizing / not repairing
• Silent treatment / passive-aggressive energy
• Losing your cool
• Critiquing + lecturing

Join Me Inside Skool

Want support practicing these shifts in real time—plus tools, coaching, and a community that gets it? Come join Parents of Teens Rising Circle inside the Skool app. A few $7/month founder spots are still available (once they’re gone, that price is gone).

👉 Join here: https://www.skool.com/rooted-in-connection-1711/about?ref=4ed96d121fb84aaf97b6f1db9dcf534a