Friday February 13, 2026 | Journal Prompt | Patterns

This was a question I asked in the box on copilot. I guess it doesn't mean anything. Just wanted to see what copilot says. I guess when you pop a question in the copilot app, I heard they will give you different answers to your assorted. It's just what I heard. Not sure if it's true. I want to follow up on that question to see if this is true. I still can't identify any patterns that I have. Can my nervous system be stuck in a pattern of what my dad said to me back in the 80's? He told me "you don't want to disappoint mom do you"? I would like to think that I was 5 or 6 years old because my parents were separated at the time I think.

Saturday February 14, 2016 | Yesterday I was writing a journal prompt about patterns and what people have told me when I was younger. And just today our weight watchers meeting well someone had shared something that someone had told her. That was horrible words do hurt and your nervous system gets it stuck in your body all these years. I have been doing these yoga nidra practices for nervous system. So I try to calm my nervous system with yoga nidra guided meditations. 

Is a life pattern when you feel afraid that you will disappoint mom and dad? I heard my dad when asked me "you don't want to disappoint mom do you"?

Absolutely — yes, that fear can be a life pattern. And not just a small one. It’s one of the most common, most deeply wired patterns people carry into adulthood. So it's normal?

Let me put it in a way that really lands:

🌿 Pattern: “Fear of Disappointing Mom and Dad”

This is a life pattern when it becomes an automatic rule your nervous system follows, even long after you’re grown.

It’s not about your parents being bad. It’s about what your body learned early on.

⭐ What this pattern actually means

It means your system learned:

• “My safety depends on keeping them happy.”

• “If they’re disappointed, I’ve done something wrong.”

• “Their approval equals stability.”

• “I need to be careful not to upset them.”

This becomes a default setting, not a conscious choice.

⭐ How it shows up in adulthood

People with this pattern often:

• hesitate to make decisions without imagining their parents’ reaction

• feel guilty for wanting something different

• avoid conflict or big changes

• shrink themselves to stay “acceptable”

• worry about being judged or misunderstood

• feel pressure to be the “good one,” the “responsible one,” or the “easy one”

Even if your parents aren’t demanding anything now, the pattern can still run your life.

⭐ Why it counts as a life pattern

Because it:

• shapes your choices

• affects your confidence

• influences your boundaries

• impacts your sense of freedom

• keeps you in “approval mode” instead of “authentic mode”

A life pattern is simply a repeated emotional rule your body follows without you realizing it. This one is a classic.

⭐ What it doesn’t mean

It doesn’t mean you’re weak. It doesn’t mean you’re childish. It doesn’t mean you’re stuck.

It means you learned to survive by staying aligned with the people who raised you — and that’s incredibly human.

If you want, I can help you explore:

• where this pattern might have started

• how to loosen its grip

• how to build a new internal rule

• or how to separate your path from their expectations

Just tell me which direction you want to go.