Eps 557: Helping teens discover their life purpose with Will Kirsop

Eps 557: Helping teens discover their life purpose with Will Kirsop

Author: Casey O'Roarty March 17, 2025 Duration: 48:02
My guest today is Will Kirsop, and he’s here to talk about helping teens discover their purpose, uncover their gifts, and support them in cultivating lives they will look forward to. Will shares the four stages of life crafting he goes through with adolescents and shares his “best friend trick” and bowling alley analogy. We touch on encouraging goal setting and personal responsibility, uncovering purpose, and emotionally untangling from our teens.   Takeaways from the show How to uncover our teen’s gifts - everyone has a unique gift; how do we bring it into the world?  Supporting adolescents in cultivating lives they will look forward to  The traditional “ladders of success” are outdated - there is no “one right path” anymore  Therapy versus coaching  The four stages of life crafting  What is appreciative inquiry?  Will’s “best friend trick” and bowling alley analogy  Encouraging goal setting & personal responsibility  Working towards our purpose - what are we doing right now? What’s the next stepping stone or springboard on your path?  Emotionally untangling from our teens “There’s no getting around teen brain development”  Helping teens realize they can dream big(ger)  For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Parenting adolescents often feels like navigating a landscape without a reliable map, where the old rules no longer apply and connection can feel just out of reach. Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens, hosted by Casey O'Roarty, meets you right in that uncertainty. This podcast operates from a simple, powerful belief: the challenges of raising tweens and teens, while deeply personal, are also a shared human experience. Instead of offering quick fixes, conversations here focus on the foundational work of building and repairing relationships, fostering essential life skills in our kids, and perhaps most importantly, doing the internal work required of us as parents. You’ll hear honest discussions that blend practical strategies with compassionate insight, all aimed at transforming this demanding season from a battle of wills into an opportunity for mutual growth. Tuning into this podcast feels like gaining a thoughtful, experienced friend who reminds you that courage isn't about being fearless, but about finding joy and resilience within the beautiful mess of family life. It’s a resource for anyone who wants to move beyond reaction and toward a more intentional, connected approach with the young adults in their home.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Joyful Courage for Parenting Teens
Podcast Episodes
Eps 641: Well being is an inside job [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:25
I'm diving deep into what happens when we release others—including our teens—to their own journeys. As parents, we hang on so tight, resisting what scares us, but what we resist persists. I'm sharing my own messy middle…
Eps 640: Relationship Reset with your Teen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:12
Feeling like you're living with a wildfire instead of just putting out fires with your teen? In this solo episode, I explore why traditional discipline approaches fail when relationships are ruptured, and introduce the c…
Eps 639: Politics and Parenting with Alyson Schafer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:59
In this powerful conversation, I sit down with psychotherapist and Positive Discipline expert Alyson Schafer to explore how we can support our teens through today's turbulent political climate. We discuss Alfred Adler's…
Eps 637: Dr. Jared Horvath-EdTech Harms Learning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:13
I sat down with Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, a neuroscientist who's worked with over 1,000 schools globally, and what he shared about educational technology absolutely validates what so many of us have been feeling. After r…
Eps 636: Create, Don't Correct in 2026 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:35
I'm starting 2026 at the heart of everything I teach: the shift from problem-focused to possibility-focused parenting. This solo episode dives deep into the work I've been doing with parents for nearly 20 years—understan…
Eps 635: Winter break with teens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:06
In this solo episode, I'm getting real about navigating the holiday break with your teen. I'll walk you through the both/and of this season—how to hold hope and anxiety at the same time, including the grief that might be…
Eps 633: Revisiting Control vs Influence While Parenting Teens [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:22
During this week's solo show, I am digging back into one of the biggest parenting struggles: the illusion of control. As a parent educator with nearly 20 years of experience, I'm breaking down why trying to control our t…