Dear Inner Child, June is Your Invitation to Think Differently
- May 31
- 4 min read
KeKe Chanel is an award-winning author, certified life and book coach, and host of Kickin' It With KeKe Podcast. KeKe is also the owner of KeKe Chanel LLC and Nineteen Lifestyle Magazine.
June feels different. Maybe it's because we're halfway through the year. Maybe it's because summer has a way of making us slow down long enough to hear ourselves think, or maybe it's because the little version of you, the one who still lives somewhere beneath the responsibilities, deadlines, heartbreaks, and expectations is asking for your attention. Not your perfection. Your attention.
Many of us spend years trying to fix our mindset without ever addressing the child who helped create it. The child who learned that love had to be earned. The child who became the peacemaker because conflict felt unsafe. The child who learned to shrink because being seen attracted criticism. The child who decided, "If I do everything right, maybe nobody will leave."
That child grew up. But many of those beliefs grew up too. The beautiful thing about mindset is that it isn't a life sentence. It's a collection of thoughts, experiences, interpretations, and stories that can be rewritten. It weeds out the noise of tradition and chaotic cycles, opening new paths of possibilities we don’t think we deserve. This June, instead of chasing a better life, consider introducing your inner child to a better story.
Mindset shift 1: Stop asking "What's wrong with me?", ask "What happened to me?"
This question changes everything. When something triggers you, disappoints you, or causes you to react in ways you don't understand, don't immediately criticize yourself. Give yourself grace. Get curious. Get intentional.
Your inner child isn't looking for punishment. It’s looking for understanding. For permission to move differently, to use your imagination and push past barriers that create tunnel vision or comfort.
The next time you find yourself spiraling, ask "What experience taught me to think this way?" You'll be surprised how many adult struggles are simply childhood lessons that were never updated.
Mindset shift 2: Become the adult you needed
Most people spend years searching for someone to give them what they missed. Validation. Protection. Encouragement. Consistency.
What if June became the month you stopped outsourcing those needs? What if June was the turning point you overlooked, holding on to "Grandma said this way is best" or "Mama did it that way."
Every morning ask yourself "What would the younger version of me need to hear today?" Then say it. Out loud. Not because it's cheesy. Because it's healing. Healing isn’t designed to be pretty. It’s messy, it’s necessary. It’s access to a new normal that challenges you to want more. Why? Because you deserve more.
Mindset shift 3: Create a "proof folder"
Your inner child remembers every rejection. Your adult self needs help remembering every victory. Create a digital folder called Proof. Save screenshots of compliments. Messages that encouraged you. Photos of accomplishments. Moments when you showed courage.
On difficult days, review the evidence. Not your fears. The evidence. No matter how uncomfortable some of those things are, take them in and allow them to fuel you. Mindset shifts happen when facts become louder than insecurities.
Mindset shift 4: Celebrate tiny wins like a child would
Children celebrate everything. A drawing. A cartwheel. Finding a cool rock. Seeing a bug on a window. Adults wait until they achieve something massive before feeling proud.
What if June became the month you celebrated differently? Finished the workout? Celebrate. Had the difficult conversation? Celebrate. Rested without guilt? Celebrate. Growth responds to acknowledgment. If the small wins matter, reward yourself. Post it. Tell anyone who listens.
Mindset shift 5: Replace self criticism with self conversation
Your inner child is always listening. Imagine speaking to a seven-year-old version of yourself the way you speak to yourself after making a mistake. Would they feel encouraged? Or defeated?
This month, challenge yourself to respond differently. Instead of, "I messed everything up." Try, "I didn't get the outcome I wanted, but I'm learning."
One creates shame. The other creates growth. No more negative self talk moving forward. Let that go.
Mindset shift 6: Give yourself permission to outgrow old identities
Sometimes the biggest mindset shift isn't learning something new. It's releasing something old. You are allowed to outgrow the identity of:
The people pleaser.
The fixer.
The overachiever.
The one who always has it together.
The person everyone depends on.
Your inner child may have created those roles for survival, but your adult self gets to choose whether they still fit. Here’s a challenge for you:
A June challenge for your inner child
Every day this month, write down one belief that no longer serves you. Then write a replacement belief beneath it. For example:
"I have to earn love." Becomes, "I am worthy of love because I exist."
"I always mess things up." Becomes, "I am learning, growing, and improving every day."
By the end of June, you'll have a collection of mindset shifts that prove you are not the same person who entered the month.
Final thoughts
Dear Inner Child,
Thank you for doing your best with what you knew. Thank you for protecting me when you thought you had to. Thank you for carrying dreams, hopes, and possibilities that adulthood sometimes forgot. This June, I’m not abandoning you. I’m taking your hand. I’m updating the story. I’m choosing new beliefs. Together, we're becoming someone neither of us has met yet. Someone healed. Someone whole. Someone free. The best version of me.
Read more from KeKe Chanel
KeKe Chanel, Author, Host, and Certified Life and Book Coach
KeKe Chanel is an award-winning author, certified life coach, and host of Kickin’ It With KeKe: Life, Love, and All That Other SH&T Podcast. KeKe is the proud owner and CEO of P.U.S.H. Life Coaching & KeKe Chanel LLC. At PUSH, KeKe helps individuals unpack their mental packages to create a new mindset through positive personal growth. Her hobbies include reading, watching horror movies, and spending time with people who recharge her in a positive way. KeKe recently founded Kickin’ It With KeKe Media and launched her lifestyle magazine, Nineteen, in January of 2024. KeKe resides in Louisiana with her family.
