Father's Day Bonus Episode

Do I Still Want My Dad’s Approval?

A Father’s Day bonus episode

Why can our dad’s opinion still matter so much — even when we’re well and truly grown up?

In this special Father’s Day episode of Just a Minute, Dr Kumari Valentine explores how our relationships with our fathers can shape the way we see ourselves, seek approval and respond to criticism.

We look at the small messages we absorb in childhood — about achievement, emotions, being “good enough” and what we need to do to feel accepted — and how these can sometimes show up later as perfectionism, people-pleasing, self-criticism or overthinking.

This isn’t an episode about blaming fathers. Some dads loved through words; others through providing, fixing, teaching, showing up or simply doing the best they could with what they themselves had been given. We can understand a father’s story and still acknowledge what we needed.

And because this is Just a Minute, there’s a gentle one-minute practice at the heart of the episode:

What did you most need to hear from your dad?

And what might change if you began offering yourself a little more of that message now?

Father’s Day can hold love, gratitude, grief, disappointment and complicated feelings — sometimes all at once. This episode makes room for all of them.

🎁 Free companion reflection: The Words I Needed to Hear
A gentle two-page exercise to help you explore what you received, what you needed, and what you’d like to carry forward.

https://justaminutewithdrkumari.substack.com/p/just-a-minute-bonus-episode-fathers?r=5fseg6&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

And if needing other people’s approval tends to leave you replaying conversations, second-guessing yourself or wondering whether you’ve done enough, stay with me. We’ll be exploring overthinking — and what actually helps — throughout the next episodes of Just a Minute.

 

Small moments can make a meaningful difference. ❤️