Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay

Episode 53 — Take The Chance On Yourself — with Eric Rydzewski

March 16, 2021 Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC Season 1 Episode 53
Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay
Episode 53 — Take The Chance On Yourself — with Eric Rydzewski
Show Notes

Don’t give up. Don’t give up on yourself. If you choose to not give up on yourself and you continue new things, you are dramatically increasing the chances that things will get better in whatever circumstance you are in. There’s no guarantee that things will always work out but if you give up, you’re dramatically increasing the odds that things might not improve. There’s a balance that can be found in that fear, but many times it can be self destructive and painful to allow consume you. 

Eric Rydzewski, Primary Therapist at Elements Traverse Wilderness never had the goal to be in Wilderness Therapy. It was where Eric found himself led to. He didn’t know what that pull meant, but he followed it even through the fear and pain throughout his journey. Eric’s goal was ultimately to help others figure out how to manage their emotions and become more resilient and handle their fears that don't do them a disservice, because of his own experiences with substance abuse, anxiety, panic attacks, and an overwhelm of stress. One summer off school on the Appalachian trail and the many pivots in his journey, all led him to the world of troubled young people, therapy, and wilderness combined.

On this episode of Success is Subjective, Eric joins Joanna to share his journey going from feeling very trapped in school, and in himself, to coming to learn to follow the pull he felt to nature and providing people the experience of something really new and exciting. Eric’s perspective shows that success can be something that is always changing and in order to see it and feel it more often for yourself, it’s more about going where you feel led, rather than focusing on an end, life goal. Listen in for insight on how Eric’s choice to not give up in his struggles has brought him to now be able to work with struggling adults to take the chance on themselves as well.

What You Will Learn

  • What it means to be the “man of the house” when you have a temporarily unavailable male parent 
  • The reason Eric choose college
  • How having parents who “pay attention” can proactively help their young adult with academics, and unhealthy coping skills 
  • The powerful intervention that happened at one of Eric’s lowest moments
  • In reading Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods,” he took the spring semester off and hiked the Appalachian Trail.
  • What all led up to Eric finding Outward Bound
  • Where Outward Bound took Eric and where he finds himself now at Elements Traverse Wilderness
  • The importance of not giving up on the journey

Connect with Eric Rydzewski

Eric Rydzewski of Elements Traverse Wilderness 

Elements Traverse Wilderness 

Call 866-542-2252

Email  eric@elementstraverse.com or john@elementstraverse.com   

Connect with Joanna Lilley  

Lilley Consulting

Lilley Consulting on Instagram 

Lilley Consulting on Facebook 

Sponsored by: www.ParentTrainers.com

Email joanna@lilleyconsulting.com