194: Overcoming Executive Functioning Challenges with Seth Perler

As this show airs, we’re reaching two important milestones. We hit the 100K downloads mark, which is thrilling in itself. We also are approaching the fourth anniversary of the Embracing Intensity podcast, which means we’ve been at this for quite a while now! Reach out to me at Aurora Remember and let me know what “embracing intensity” means to you. We will feature these in our upcoming anniversary show next week! For now, enjoy another informative show with my inspiring guest who I've been a fan of for quite some time.

Seth Perler’s life’s work has been dedicated to helping kids overcome executive functioning challenges so they can have great futures despite our outdated educational systems. Seth’s mission is to help compassionate and proactive parents, educators, and others who care about kids. He wants to give honest, practical, and unconventional approaches to helping complicated, struggling students without BS or misinformation. He wants to teach the world about executive function, which is at the root of student struggles. Seth’s vision is a day when we don’t need executive functioning coaches because education is wildly successful at empowering all students with everything they need to have happy, healthy, and successful lives.

Show Highlights:

• Why Seth is intensely passionate about helping struggling students and changing educators to understand these kids better

• How Seth grew up as a curious, free-spirited kid who loved animals and nature but never fit into “the box” in school

• How Seth was labeled as a lazy, irresponsible failure--and his “fire was squelched”

• How Seth became a teacher of gifted kids but soon became frustrated with the system

• How Seth’s personal brand of intensity loves nature and the environment and feels the suffering of other people, animals, and plants

• Why Seth hates to see kids struggle to be understood

• How Seth is intense with his sensory experiences and emotions

• How kids’ feelings are invalidated by cultural factors that teach them that acknowledging their feelings is not OK

• Why Seth had a hopeless and cynical attitude as a kid, knowing he was “not like the other kids”

• How Seth learned to escape by going into social settings to avoid being alone

• Why Seth felt trapped by his “darkness”

• How Seth lived in his problem until he found the tools to step into the solution

• How Seth uses his fire for good by teaching what he most needs to learn and using what he has struggled with to help others

• How Seth harnesses the power of his intensity through meditation, the #1 way he understands himself

• Seth’s advice to those who don’t think they can meditate

• How Seth helps kids learn to shine through new mindsets, systems, and routines

• Seth’s advice:

  • Focus on helping others with a heart and spirit of service

  • Meditate and have times of stillness

  • Learn to journal

  • Get in touch with your story to know what is BS and what is truth

Resources:

Connect with Seth:   Seth Perler  and Executive Function Summit  

Find Seth on YouTube and his podcast, Learn Smarter.