If you value raising children with a heart filled with gratitude, as I am sure you do, how do you ensure you hit your mark? One answer may be through the utilization of “experiential learning”. What do I mean? Observation has shown that frustration often sets in with parents when their children make an insensitive or selfish comment. Parents think, “If only my child knew how lucky they are!”
Well, for better or worse, all a child knows is their OWN experience. As it is for adults, it is difficult to see tragedy in other parts of the world and bring the grateful experience back into your everyday consciousness. After all, it took Scrooge, a trip back in time and a trip to the future to really appreciate the opportunities he had before him.
And while as parents we don’t want to create painful experiences for our children, I have found the closer we can get to a challenging circumstance the better. Here are some examples:
How to Teach Your Child to Stay Motivated
Posted: May 17, 2019
Have you ever had the experience of listening to a parent talk about their child’s attitude regarding an activity like dance, gymnastics, baseball, theater, karate, etc. and hear them say something like, "Jimmy loves his classes once he's at them. After class he's talking about how great it was and he always leaves with big smile on his face. But sometimes, I have a hard time getting him to his classes. Jimmy's watching TV or a friend asks him to play or he's in the middle of a game and he gives me a hassle about going to the activity. Has this ever happened to you?”
Child psychologists call this being "Present Oriented" and it's typical in young children, but certainly extends to teens. They don't want to break away from what they are doing now, no matter what! They have not learned the concept we like to call "stacking." If this happens to you or to a parent you are in conversation with here is a script that you may find very helpful.
Sit down with your child and ask, "Jimmy, can you build a nice castle or high tower if I give you a bunch of blocks?"
Ways to Practice the Art of Being Thankful
Posted: May 17, 2019
Most people have heard the expression “The Attitude of Gratitude,” but beyond knowing the saying, how do you ensure it is a part of your consciousness? I see gratitude as a key ingredient to being and feeling our best and it doesn’t have to just be once a year during Thanksgiving. In fact, practicing the daily dose of gratitude may be the best antidote for dealing with the struggles and pressures that face us all. Thanksgiving merely provides a scheduled opportunity to help refocus our perspective rejuvenate our desire to get in touch with this perhaps the very best version of ourselves.
For myself, I know that when I come from a place of being grateful everything and everyone else around me seems to improve. Does it really improve? Naturally, in many cases, things don’t magically change, but what does change is my perspective and most of the time this is all that is necessary.
In planning for one of the busiest months of my calendar I offer quick list of six random items to remind us of how much we all have to be grateful for.
Happiness is Key to Claiming you are at your Personal Best
Posted: May 17, 2019
As a boy, I think what drew me to Martial Arts was the demeanor Chuck Norris and Bruce Lee had in their movies. Both characters had their share of adversity both physically and mentally, but I always watched in awe at how calm they were under the most stressful of circumstances. They found their focus, did what they needed to do and then went back to their normal happy life.
Are you happy? Does the answer depend on when you are reading this? Are you a person that exudes happiness all the time? I think you may agree with me there are certainly moments in life where happiness permeates everything around us. Many have experienced flow states where everything just seems to fall in place and moves in the right direction. Don’t you love when that happens? The challenge is that often the complexity of life doesn’t allow for euphoric environments around us. So how do you handle yourself when the “daily grind” threatens to steal your happiness away?
Here are some suggestions from Personal Development expert Brian Tracy that will keep you focused on the right things and give you more daily joy and happiness in your life.
How you protect your child from bullying
Posted: May 17, 2019
By Master Christopher Rappold
Simple Tip #1 Rehearse what to do
What do the statistics say?