Avoid Ultimatums
The best way to make sure nothing changes in conversations with aging parents is to give them an ultimatum. It’s good for about 10 seconds of “take charge” pride followed by the long tail of days wishing you had tried…
The Guiding Question
It’s easy to get lost in the consumptive ocean of endless transactions that come with caregiving. There is so much to do all the time that just thinking about it can be exhausting and defeating. Well intended advice from…
Release Impossible Burdens
Second Thoughts After They’re Gone
When a parent passes away, we take on a new kind of work. I am not referring to the necessary “estate chores” of filing papers or clearing out the house. I am referring to the psychological process of sorting out…
Send Contol-Friendly Signals to Aging Parents
The Unavoidable Dilemmas of the Last Phase of Life
Dilemmas are messy, confusing, threatening, no-win situations where choices have to be made.
Dilemmas dominate the last phase of life and extract a heavy toll on the entire family.
The link below offers a short summary of the important differences…
What’s Really Going On Here?
Adult children and aging parents view the same situation from very different perspectives. And both are absolutely sure their interpretation of its meaning as well as their ideas about how to deal with it are correct. Not surprising, each party…
Mind The Gap
Aging parents have a different psychological agenda from their adult children. The agenda of the last phase of life has a laser like focus on preserving control and creating a legacy. It’s all about Lasting and Leaving.
Adult children need…
Strategic Collaboration Calls with David Solie™
If you are getting the same results using the same strategies over and over again with an aging parent, it may be time for a collaboration call to gain both a new perspective on your situation and new communication…