Tom Tozer and Bill BlackLast week, we started a discussion about making it through the holidays — simplifying, being present, showing interest, flexibility and forgiveness. This week we finish with some concluding thoughts.
Some of the situations we’ve dealt with during the year have seemed so critical at the moment, haven’t they? Making it through a traffic light, being first in line, seeing our team win. Yet sometimes our insistence on a certain outcome prevents us from truly enjoying the activity in which we’re engaged. On reflection, we find our perspective was skewed or our sense of crisis was misdirected. Some events, although not critically important, can produce negative outcomes by the importance we place on them.
Fathers don’t operate separately from their children. We serve as role models in everything we do. Eyes are watching and ears are listening. It’s important to remember that we play a significant teaching role to our children in how we handle everyday situations. They learn from watching us.
So in the coming new year, the next time someone is driving too slowly, the sport shop is out of your size or your team loses, grab some perspective. Think of the other people involved, and remember the reaction you have can cap the day and send a child a message about the way to act.
Sometimes our kids need a push. But if pushing includes any of these statements, you may want to take another approach: