Learn why leading by example and self-acceptance are key to inspiring your kids and becoming the parent they want to follow.
The Power of Influence and Example in Parenting
Welcome to this week's You Are Destined For Greatness. Appreciate you taking your time to be here with me today.
I've been spending some time thinking about the people that have influenced me the most in my life, and I'm going to ask you to do the same thing. Think about those people and think about what it is that caused them to have such a big impact on you. Why do you admire them so much?
And I think that if you really think about that, you'll come to the same conclusion I did. Number one, you admire how they live their lives, the values that they had and their integrity. And two, how you felt when you’re with them. They made you feel important, made you feel valued, and make you feel loved.
It’s not necessarily that they were smart, or they had success, or they told you what to do. You know, when I was a kid, people—seemed like everybody—was telling me what to do all the time. Do this, do that, do this.
Parenting by Rules vs. Parenting by Example
You know we have these rules. We all have rules in our household. Parenting rules. And usually, they came from—if we're parents—they came from our parents, and they came from their parents. And if you do these rules, your kids will work out perfectly. But then they say, "Hey, kids learn by example. Do as you do." You know, "Do that, learn, they hear what you do, not what you say," and all that. Like, lead by example. We know that, right?
Well, and really, what—if that is true—okay, how do we go about getting that done?
Self-Acceptance and Growth for the Sake of Others
The more that I thought about the people that influenced me, the more I am driven to more accept myself, to more forgive myself, to more to love myself, so that I have the capacity to come out and show up to the people that I love more. It's not about me. It's just as much or more about them.
So I just ask you to consider again the things—when you think about the people that have had the best influence on you, that have really meant the most to you in your life—to look at that and say, "What were those things?"
Asking the Right Questions When Things Go Wrong
And then when the chips are down and things aren't going exactly how you want, to just take a quick look at yourself and say, "How am I showing up? Do my kids—do they want to listen to me? When they look at me, do they say, ‘Hey, I want to be like that. I want to have what you do, Mom and Dad. I don't—that's what I want. That's the kind of life that's gonna most make the difference.’”
Brené Brown’s Quote on Parenting
Because remember—that's the—that Brené Brown quote, where she says that—it's one of my—I love this quote. She says that, “The way that we are as parents and the way that we interact with the world has more to do with how our kids will turn out, with how they'll be, than what we know about parenting.”
It really is by example, and it really is how we show up.
Stable Living Coaching and Final Thoughts
Those are things we deal with every day in Stable Living Coaching. Thank you for taking your time to be with me.
Remember, You Are Destined For Greatness.
