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“What’s something you’ve tried that didn’t go the way you wanted—but helped you learn something important?”
Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center’s podcast dedicated to empowering parents and their kids as they navigate mental health challenges. Through insightful discussions, expert advice, and engaging storytelling, we provide the tools and support needed to foster resilience, self-discovery, and emotional well-being.
Each episode features two segments:
🦸♂️ For Parents – Practical strategies, expert insights, and real conversations to help caregivers support their child’s mental and emotional growth.
🌟 For Kids – Interactive storytelling and discussions centered around unlocking their inner hero, overcoming obstacles, and building confidence.
Together, we break stigmas, encourage open dialogue, and equip families with the knowledge to thrive. Because every hero’s journey starts with a conversation.
#CapesAndConversations #UnlockTheHeroWithin #MentalHealthMatters #ParentingSupport #BuildingFutures
00:00:00
Welcome to Capes and Conversations, the Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center podcast. I'm Adam Kotowski, clinical director. And I'm Megan Rose McMullen, MS. This podcast is a conversation about mental health and wellness. So out in the lobby, we're actually watching Moana and Moana 2. And why I bring that up is because one of the common themes of both Moana and Maui is that when they fail, they kind of feel like they want to give up and they're just like,
00:00:35
they like want to quit, right? But what happens is something comes back to them and they're like, don't quit. You don't quit on it. You got to just adjust. You got to adjust your sales and you got to go for it because there's a lot of times in our journey that we end up doubting ourselves, but in the end, we have to still keep pushing forward. Absolutely true. So tell us what this thing is. There is no such thing as a failure. I think it's failure, only feedback. There isn't. And if you look at, and I love that we're talking to the kids.
00:01:07
because I really feel the kids know this. They may have forgotten it, especially the teenage kids, because so much changes from freshman year to senior year of high school. You go from child to adult. But our belief systems change too. And the thing we forget when we're three or four years old and we're in the backyard and we're doing stuff, particularly if we have a superhero T-shirt on, is we don't fail, we just keep trying. We do it again, and then we do it again, and then we do it again.
00:01:38
And we keep doing it until we get it right. But what is interesting is as we do that until we get it right and we complete it, we also find new feedback and reproduce results, which gives us better chances and ideas of completing it in time. So with the theory that there's no such thing as failure, just feedback, you have to think about it. to realize that you do not fail you produce results and then you take the learning from those results and you grow but then you will get better everything if you look at we're just talking.
00:02:11
about this uh in the other podcast you look at everybody when they start a podcast from the very first episode to the most current one you get better you get more effective you've done it the sound is better the content is better the guests are better absolutely i mean even thinking of like politically like every president from day one when they start talking to like their last four or eight year term they're two completely different you know they read the teleprompters better they know the notes they know confidence they know what they're saying they're different.
00:02:41
people right and that's that's the truth with anybody you know even a hiring ceo they're going to speak differently in time because you get more confident in your role it's the same thing with anything you're doing as a kid when you, really get the idea the concept that you don't, fail, you just get feedback, and then you take the production and results, and then you create more effective results from there. You keep growing. Because Michael Jordan, Simone Bile,
00:03:12
Michael Phelps, they all failed. Struck out with the ball. 15 seasons, he won 6 NBA titles. Does that mean the 9 seasons were disastrous for that he failed completely? No. He basically had losing seasons more than he had winning seasons. Yeah. Right? NBA championship. But 6 NBA championships, 2 or 3 pieces. Yeah. Never did nothing for him. And I'm sure when he started off in middle school, high school, wherever he started, is that he probably didn't have such a good.
00:03:44
free throw score. Absolutely. At times, the seniors were better than him. Results were always different along the way. Right. And I think it's hard, though, because sometimes we feel like when we produce a result that isn't great, we get feedback from our parents or our... teachers or our coaches that feels kind of critical and like feels like shame and hard embarrassing to be like oh I need to do better right but well we're going to have expectations we're going to have people you know I like to always say this to kids out there listening.
00:04:17
your parents get you involved in travel or club sports there's a cost with that the average travel is $2,500 to $3,000 just to join then you're taking travel costs and all the other things that go with it it's expensive so guess what there's going to be expectations from your parents there's going to be expectations from your teachers your coaches everybody because they're investing in you and then when you invest in something you want to return on in that investment so there's going to be expectations that you are going to have to have how you handle those expectations.
00:04:53
is entirely up to you that's where your progress your production of results and everything comes yeah and if you sit there moaning, grown, like, who's going to want to, you're not going to. Complacency does nothing. Yeah. It's a waste of time. Well, what happens, didn't your son have a story about being kicked off of some team? Three teams. He was, he plays professional baseball today, and he still was cut from three baseball teams when he was in travel. Can you imagine if he would have been like, nah, I guess I have to do it. I'm not good enough, I'm going to quit.
00:05:24
No, he had a good career at Missouri State. He played great baseball, and, you know, he goes on pro level, and he's not done yet. He's still got a lot of life left in him. The thing is, is that he would have never gotten to where he's at if he didn't have those three cuts. Yeah. You know, and every time he came home, very terrible, he died, you know, it hit him hard, but, you know, my wife and I were very simple, work harder. Yeah. You know, put your best effort out there, work harder. And his goal was be professional. Correct. Every single time. Right. So when the coaches were like, sorry, we'll cut you, he was like, okay, well, tell me.
00:05:57
exactly what I did wrong and what I need to work on. But. How do I get better? Yeah. Right. I had this experience when I was, I didn't play, I played in tennis and basketball in college. And so for tennis, I was on the JV team and I kept playing. These people were way better than we had been playing since they were little. And there was all strategy, all strategy. Didn't even move, just kicking my butt left and right.
00:06:27
But like every time I played one, I got better. I got better because I got to see what they did. And all I was is speed and endurance. I can go real fast, which is not a tennis thing. It's not a tennis thing. So, I mean, I was designed differently for that. And then I have this one experience that I think I shared where I was, I love basketball. Absolutely love it. Went to college, tried out for the team. They had already promised a bunch of people positions.
00:06:58
And I had always been. Forward. in a center because that was the size of the team that I had but when I went to college, I'm tall but not that tall and the coach took me aside and he said you have skills, but I can't play you on the center and whatever you gotta be point and in my mind I didn't hear the first part of what he said I heard you gotta do something.
00:07:28
that you're bad at and so I quit this thing that I love and the whole time I could have just practiced the skill instead I ended up having more of a fixed mindset than a growth mindset because I didn't think of this as an opportunity to do something I absolutely love all I heard was I'm bad and not good and not tall enough and then I went on this whole thing about how I paid my body for being short because all I wanted to do was be a forward in basketball but like.
00:07:59
I can't, I've already changed my height. I've already hit where I'm supposed to go. But what I could have changed was my skills and dribbling. Your approach. Yeah. And my mindset because I totally missed the mark where he was like, you have skills. I want you on a team. Right. Be a point. Yep. But no, I quit. Right. I'm like, what was I thinking? Well, because it was in your interpretation. Yeah. You interpreted, you heard what you wanted to hear. And that's where everybody's part of it.
00:08:32
I mean, I'm with ADHD and dyslexia. I've been like that my whole life. I do hear what I want to hear. I know that. So I can't blame it on anybody else. That's why I always ask a lot of questions for full understanding because I don't want to leave it to chance. Yeah. But that is a great point because it's like you think about that. That wasn't failure. That was misinterpretation. Yeah. Right. And if I would have, I also think that I, in that time, because of trauma, because of the pain that I had been through, it was very easy. For me to hear the negative. super easy for me to hear the negative.
00:09:02
and blame my body blame whatever and quit because I was one of those people who had been told their whole life that they were gifted in smarts or gifted in sports and this was the first time where I would have to be learning something outside of my comfort zone because in my mind I wasn't a dribbler I wasn't good at that in my mind but so that was my belief and that's really what blocked me and as I process as I process the.
00:09:32
invisible backpack that I have of that I developed resilience I developed the growth mindset and I decided that everything is a skill from this point forward if someone comes up to me and is like hey you're good at this but you need an X, Y, and Z I'm going to use that which is what basically we're talking about because sometimes trauma can do that though where we focus only on the negative, and we've missed the whole point. You've missed the whole point of the nuggets and the wisdom that can happen, The nuggets of wisdom, excuse me, that can happen when you go through trauma. There's so much learning still that you go through. Trauma and tragedy, the two Ts, literally can give you so much wisdom and guidance and direction and redirection on your path if you allow it.
00:10:19
The problem is we get, and it's rightfully so, if it's trauma and it's tragic, you're emotionally into it. The world ceases to exist because you're so entrapped in the feeling of what's going on. But when you really sit back and detach while you're sitting in it, you can get this wisdom and understanding that you never could before. Like that now. Yes. Trauma. Yep. Tragedy. Correct. But he used that to be a catalyst and to be consumed with it.
00:13:04
if you can make it there before the ball hits first or third or whatever. And so it's important. So you could utilize this time because even though you thought that shot put and discant required running, you could use that time to be better at a different sport. Absolutely true. And it might not be your favorite thing, right? You're never going to win all the time, because that's not how you're designed. Correct. But you can still try the best you can, because then it can promote you into a better baseball player or whatever it might be.
00:14:41
dollars in revenue over their songs for years. Can you imagine if they went to a bar and there was only three people there and they're like, oh great, we should just quit. Well, and you know there was, because who plays in front of a packed bar all the time? Nobody does. Nobody. I mean, I go to Nashville when I get the chance. Yeah. And you'll get some places you walk into, there'll be somebody acoustic. playing the guitar and there's one person me yeah my wife or whoever might else be there right yeah that's not easy no that's not easy one and then you go.
00:15:12
down the road to another place on Broadway and guess what yeah but different experiences you're expected to play the same way and it's practice one way or another bingo yeah bingo so what can they do to develop more resilience and self-reflection you have to have that attitude in the one word this is the one word you have to say all the time again when you do when you come.
00:15:43
from the attitude I'm going to do it again and you bring that resilience and that attitude up here we go over and over and over again you don't lose you know your passion you don't lose the drive you just keep going and you're always going to gain experience yes skills always, ability um and that's really all that it's about because at a certain point you the wind the beginning of something and the end of something is very small compared to the journey of getting there because that's what really makes you grow um get stronger correct so it's important and so.
00:16:18
don't feel be it's okay to be scared to get outside of your comfort zone but realize that that's where growth is yep and if you are too scared or you feel like you're kind of stuck or frustrated or having a lot of failure and don't know how to shift into taking that as a learning opportunity what can you do um if if you're struggling with it well in addition to really, understanding that you have to have your attitude right um you just find that why you find the.
00:16:50
reason why you got excited to do it in the first place why you wanted to take on this purpose this identity this mission this uh concept this cause, When you realize, when you have a why, you can bear through any help. So if you do get discouraged, get back to the reason of why you started to do it and why you began in the first place. And that would be the motivation and inspiration to keep going. Yeah. And we can help you. Absolutely. At Grundy Eunoia. Always call or stop in. Yeah. All right.
00:17:21
Until next time. Thank you for listening to Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center Capes and Conversations. We are a non-for-profit 501c3. All donations and sponsorships will be utilized to serve those who may need it and our services through collaborative care with our psychiatric nurse practitioner and or our clinical social workers, yet are unable to afford it. If you would like to sponsor these services, donation links are in the show notes on our website and in our social media outlets. If you have any topics of conversations or questions that we should talk about, please contact us.
00:17:56
And if you choose, you will remain anonymous. Thank you for listening to Grundy Eunoia Wellness Center.