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The pace of family life can turn even the best intentions into frayed nerves and short fuses. We sat down with Dr. Kate Lund—psychologist, author, TEDx speaker, and host of the Resilient Parenting Podcast—to unpack a practical path back to calm leadership at home. Her core idea is refreshingly doable: step away to step in. By carving out a few minutes to regulate stress and reflect, we show up steadier, more patient, and more connected with our kids.

Dr. Lund opens up about her family, including supporting one twin’s choice to attend a boarding school that fits his learning style and rowing goals while his brother thrives locally. The message: there’s no single right path. When we stop comparing and start scouting for the right environment, kids gain confidence and momentum. She also shares her own story of childhood hydrocephalus, the role of her parents in focusing on possibility, and how those lessons shaped her clinical work with families navigating anxiety, burnout, and big transitions.

We dig into two small habits with outsized impact. First, the relaxation response: a five-minute breathing practice, morning and night, anchored by a calming word. It lowers your baseline stress so difficult moments don’t spiral. Second, the daily wins exercise: three to five things that went well each day to retrain your attention toward progress. One dad’s journey from burnout to renewed joy in sport and family connection shows how tiny, repeatable steps rebuild identity and trust. Along the way we talk patience, gratitude rituals, journaling you’ll actually use, and the power of two words to reset the room: breathe and think.

If you’re balancing career, parenting, and the invisible load, this conversation offers tools you can use tonight. Grab Dr. Lund’s book Step Away: Keys to Resilient Parenting, subscribe to the Resilient Parenting Podcast, and share this episode with a friend who could use a calmer game plan. If it resonated, leave a review and tell us: what’s one daily win you’ll write down today?

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