Your parents’ fears for you come from love. They don’t have to become your fears.

Worry is often love arriving in an awkward shape. The warnings you hear tend to be built from what happened to them, or what frightened them at your age, and that history is not automatically yours. You can accept the care without inheriting the entire catalogue of dangers. Hearing it is not the same as agreeing to carry it.

When a warning lands, try asking where it comes from instead of defending yourself. Keep the part that applies to your actual life, thank them for the rest, and leave it with them.