Today our son Mac started kindergarten. The experience of dropping him off for his first day at school impressed me so much. As every parent of a school-age child can attest, the first day of school is a learning experience in itself. This is one of those little milestones that you can expect and always remember.
Anyway, I woke up this morning and thought about the whole experience – about childhood, parenthood and everything in between – and two thoughts immediately came to mind:
How on earth did Angel and I suddenly become parents of a kindergarten? Whoa! Time goes by!
There are so many things I want to tell Mac as soon as possible before he is in high school with his friends and too cool to hear my little nuggets of wisdom. And before Angel and I go from “mom and dad who both know best” to “mom and dad who couldn’t understand”.
In no particular order, I would like to tell him and his little friends 40 things repeatedly over the next few years:
- Attitude is a small thing that makes a big difference. – Do not base your attitude on how things are. Choose your setting so that it supports and expresses the way you want it. Frustration and stress arise from the way you react and react, not from the circumstances themselves. Adjust your attitude and the frustration and stress are gone.
- What you experience begins with your perception. – In almost all cases, nothing stops you … nothing holds you back than your own thoughts about yourself and “how life is”. Your perception creates your beliefs. And your beliefs create your behavior. And your behavior produces your experience.
- Let go of the need to complain about life. – Spend your moments living its beauty. Change the expression “must” to “achieve”. So many things we complain about are things others want to have a chance at.
- Positivity always pays off. – Your thoughts don’t end when you finish thinking. They continued to echo through your life. Choose wisely and intentionally. Be outrageous and inappropriately positive. Be funny and creative and ridiculous and happy at the same time. Smile as often as possible. A smile actually changes the mood of your body. It physiologically changes the chemistry of your being. You will feel better and do better.
- Negativity only shortens your life. – Before you waste it with anger, resentment, defiance or envy, always remember how precious and irreplaceable your time is.
- Care is the greatest enemy of the present moment. – It does nothing other than steal your joy and keep you busy doing nothing at all. If you’re worried, just use your imagination to create things you don’t want. (Read the power of now.)
- Don’t run away from things. run towards them. – The best way to move away from something negative is to move towards something positive.
- Nothing is as bad as it seems. Nothing. – There is a benefit and a blessing in every fold of every experience and every result.
- Gratitude helps in every situation. – How can you turn suffering into joy and fight in peace? GRATITUDE. Be grateful for all of the problems that you do NOT have.
- Everything falls together perfectly, even though it looks like some things are falling apart. – trust in the life process. Happiness means that you are perfectly fine with what is instead of wishing and worrying about what is not. If life “falls apart” things could actually collapse … maybe for the first time.
- Change is necessary. – Change is the process of life itself. In fact, every second of our life changes everything. No matter how good or bad the situation is now, it will change. You can rely on it. So never assume that you will stay the way it is. Life changes and so do you. Breathe in fresh air. The past is long gone. Focus on what you can do, not what you should or should have done.
- You are able to do much more than you think. – Accept every moment without judgment or fear. Remind yourself that everything is in order and that you can deal with everything that comes up to you.
- If you have problems, that’s good. – It means that you are making progress. The only people with no problems are those who do nothing.
- It takes as much energy to waste your time as it does to use it wisely. – It is far better to be exhausted from a lot of effort and learning than to be tired of doing absolutely nothing.
- There is a big difference between being busy and being productive. – Do not confuse movement and progress. A rocking horse moves on, but never makes progress.
- You cannot achieve what you are not trying. – Everything you achieve comes from something you try. Everything! Do the try. The way between wanting and having is doing.
- The right and the simple are rarely the same. – Do what matters, not just what is comfortable. Do what is fulfilled, not just what is easy. When faced with a choice, choose the path that strengthens you. Decide to learn, grow, choose who you are.
- You cannot do your best without being yourself first. – Be very effective by being very authentic. Take a moment to pause and remember who you are and what you stand for. Take a moment to think about the ideas and principles that have a real and lasting meaning in your life.
- Meaningful work is important. – You are at your best when you are approaching a meaningful, positive and ambitious goal. So never follow goals you are reluctant to pursue. Find the ones that keep you awake at night with excitement.
- Always realign yourself with your highest priorities. – If you are pulled in all directions by forces beyond your control, take the time to realign yourself with what you value most in life. What is important in your life is what you choose is important, and that decision will ultimately create who you are. (Angel and I discuss this in detail in the “Passion & Growth” chapter of the NEW volume with 1,000 little things that make happy, successful people different.)
- Set your goals high. – Make your dreams big, exciting and undeniable. It is you who will drive you forward. What is out of your reach is not always out of your reach. Go on.
- Miracles happen every day. – If we think miracles are normal, we will expect them. And expecting a miracle is the safest way to get one.
- If you want to do something, do it with enthusiasm and dedication. – Don’t hold anything back … in life. Or love. Or on business. Or anything at all. Ask yourself what’s really important each morning and then have the courage to build your day around your answer.
- Concentrated effort pays off. – An attitude of “whatever is comfortable” will never do much. An attitude of “whatever it takes” is impossible to stop. So keep in mind that effort costs nothing – it pays off. What you invest in effort is never wasted. Sincere, targeted efforts always bring something valuable – a result that shows you what the next step is.
- What you can achieve depends heavily on how much you want it. – If it means enough to you, you can do it. If you are ready and committed and persistent, you will get there every time.
- You can always take a small step towards your dreams. – There is absolutely nothing in your current situation that prevents you from following your dreams step by step. Use every setback, disappointment as a clue to make more determined progress than ever.
- Take time to celebrate your progress at least once a month. – Look at how far you’ve come. You have made progress. Now imagine how far you can go.
- Other people’s opinions don’t have to be your reality. – Let yourself be informed by the opinions of others, do not be restricted. Learn to appreciate yourself and what you stand for. Allow yourself to be yourself. If you don’t want what the world says, you should have the courage to say it.
- Sometimes break the rules. – Don’t violate the law, but the rules. If you just follow someone else’s rules, you have not grown, you have only obeyed.
- You alone can decide what is important and what is not. – The meaning of everything in your life is the meaning you give it.
- Listen to your intuition. – If something feels right, it means that it is right for you. If something feels wrong, it means that it is wrong for you. Pay attention to your authentic feelings and follow wherever they lead.
- Possess and embrace your imperfections. – Because once you have accepted your mistakes, no one can use them against you. (Read the gifts of imperfection.)
- Every mistake is a step forward. – You can’t make a mistake; You can only make one decision, which is your next best step.
- Every day is a clean table. – Don’t you dare give up today because it looked like yesterday. Don’t even think about it. Every day is a new day to try again.
- No moment is wasted if you live it with presence and intention. – Appreciate and enjoy the trip, even if there are detours en route. Appreciate every moment, whatever every moment brings. Real appreciation for these little moments will create a remarkable life.
- Treat everyone, especially yourself, with kindness and respect. – Treat yourself as the most important person in the world and treat others the way you treat yourself. Don’t miss a single chance – not a single opportunity – to tell someone how wonderful he is, how beautiful he is inside and out. Live in such a way that people enjoy your presence when they are with you and appreciate you the same or even more when they are separated from you.
- Accept important apologies that you have never received. – If you love someone and want to forgive them, relieve them of the need to apologize to them for anything.
- True love is freedom. – Love lets go. Let go of expectations, let go of the requirements and rules and regulations that you would impose on your loved ones. The gift of pure love allows you to bless others and accept them unconditionally, giving them the freedom to make their own decisions.
- Everyone you meet can teach you something important. – In fact, the hardest people to deal with can also be your most valuable teachers.
- No matter how much you know, there is a whole lot you don’t know. – In almost every situation there may be a slightly greater willingness to acknowledge that there is something you don’t know that can change everything. Go to a new place and suddenly there are countless possibilities. If you do something differently, there will be many new opportunities. Be open.
Afterthought
Most of all, I think that the best we can do for our children as they grow up enables them to do things for themselves, allow them to be strong and responsible, give them the freedom to do things Experience their own conditions, allow them to take the bus or train and learn firsthand from life. Let them be better people, let them believe more in themselves.
It’s your turn…
What would you add to the list?
What else do you want to tell your children before they are “too cool” to hear your wisdom?
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