5 Wishes I have for My Kids

I was reflecting this morning before I woke up both kids for school.

We line up weekend events & playdates so the kids schedules are maxed out. But one more event isn’t going to make their childhood great. Am I doing my best to prepare them for a happy, successful life?

In the quiet of the morning, I wrote the hopes I have for them:

Know they are loved.

I want them to feel this in their core.

And not just because I say it. I try to remind them with my actions, writing them a note, making them a meal, playing together at the park. Carefree timelessness, as Matthew Kelly puts it, is the ultimate way to spend time with them that shows my love.

Not just saying ‘I love you’ aloud, but saying it with my actions.

Ability to think for themselves.

I can tell them how something works.

But it’s 100x more valuable if I show them how to figure it out. The world is filled with people who will tell them what to think. I want them to be a healthy skeptic.

Don’t give them the final answer — explore it together.

Understand that nobody owes them anything.

There are no guarantees in life.

Right now, I provide them with everything they need, but eventually they will need to go out there and do it for themselves. They will get rejected and that’s okay.

Shed all entitlement.

Understand the power of slow, consistent effort.

There are no quick fixes.

And if there were, the results wouldn’t feel earned anyway. I want them to know that putting in the work is it’s own reward and sometimes, you get that breakthrough that you were looking for.

Demonstrate the joy in slow, consistent effort.

Feel gratitude for everything in their lives.

Life is a gift.

Even Viktor Frankl & Dr Edith Eger, despite having their lives & dignity torn away from them in concentration camps, were able to be grateful for many things in their lives.

Pain in inevitable but suffering is a choice.

I’m incorporating these hopes into my actions so they can be ready for whatever life throws at them.

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