Inner Power or Emotional Pressure? When Choosing Happiness Helps (and When It Harms) with Terry Bean

In this episode of The Gentle Year, Knikki Hernandez sits down with Terry Bean—children’s book author, life & executive coach, and caregiver to her 91-year-old mother—for a candid conversation about positivity, power, and emotional responsibility.

Together, they examine a question many parents and educators wrestle with but rarely say out loud: When does “choosing happiness” empower children—and when does it quietly pressure them to silence real emotions?

Drawing from personal experiences with caregiving, childhood bullying, family dynamics, and education, Terry explores the difference between inner power and emotional pressure, optimism and denial, boundaries and obligation. They discuss how well-meaning messages like “be positive” or “choose how you feel” can either build resilience—or create confusion and self-blame—depending on how and when they’re taught.

This episode challenges simplistic narratives around positivity and offers a more honest framework for raising emotionally grounded children, supporting aging parents, and modeling presence, compassion, and self-trust across generations.

Thoughtful, direct, and deeply relevant, this conversation invites listeners to rethink what emotional strength really looks like for children and adults alike.

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