You will regret yourself if you don’t tell your children this. And they will thank you if you do.
1. You’ll never reach your goals if you don’t try.
Everything you, and every other person on this planet, tries to accomplish starts with giving it a try. Everything!
When facing adversity, and you will, it doesn’t mean you have to give up. Author J.K Rowling got refused by 12 publishing houses before finding one willing to publish Harry Potter. Millions of children would’ve lost the chance to enter the enchanted world of the little wizard if she had given up.
2. You can do so much more than you think.
Don’t let your brain fool you into thinking that things are impossible. So many grown ups limits themselves every day. If they, for example, see some standing on their hands they think “I could never do that”. But that’s just not true. If you are in good health and receive the proper guidance you can learn. Most times it´s just a question of overcoming your fear and dare to do it anyway.
3. Use sunblock.
Studies show that the use of sunblock when you’re young decreases the risk of getting skin cancer later in life. Plus, you won´t get wrinkles just as fast.
4. Find something that’s meaningful to you.
Life shouldn’t be one long struggle. And you will feel better when you do something meaningful. Go for what feels right. Don’t just choose the easy way or do as “everybody else”. If you’re working in a bank but would rather be fishing guide your life will be miserable. Become a fishing guide!
5. I believe in you, but that’s not what matters the most.
The most important thing is that you believe in yourself. A strong self-confidence concerns the issue of how good you think you are at different things. From the ages 3 to 8 the self-confidence
is at it’s strongest. Therefor it’s important to acknowledge the child (“I see you..”) and give it options.
6. A negative attitude towards life makes it harder.
Spending your life complaining about things hasn’t done anyone any good. Change the phrase “I must” to “I will”. As a parent you always have choice. You can choose your attitude towards life, and your choice will rub of on your children. Studies shows that positive thinking makes you smarter (!) and healthier.
7. Change doesn’t have to be something bad.
Life changes. All the time. No matter how good or bad our lives our, it will change. Something didn’t go your way? You failed? You arrived late for work? Let it go. Focus on what you can do instead of what you should’ve done.
8. Don´t worry so much.
Ask yourself: Is this something that I can change or not?
If you can? Do it.
If you can’t? Let it go.
This is something that you as a parent should keep in mind. Kids aren’t stupid, they can feel if you’re worried.
9. Listen to your instincts.
Do you feel somewhere deep in the gut that something just isn’t right? Listen to that feeling. Studies show that successful persons take over 90 % of their decisions based on gut feeling. Unfortunately many people of today bypass those instincts, which makes them doubt themselves even more. Don’t ecome one of them – listen to your instincts.
10. Don´t ever stop being a child.
To be childish is healthy. All thats fun doesn’t have to end just because your over 30 and work at an office. You can still roll around on your lawn, eat cake for breakfast and jump like fool when you’re happy.
11. Treat people with love and respect.
Don´t ever miss an opportunity to pay someone a compliment or give them a smile. It won’t cost you anything, and it will you give you so much in return.
12. Everyones a beginner at some point.
Don´t say no to stuff just because you won´t be good at them from the start. It´s brave to try new things. You as a parent are an important role model for your child. What do you dare to try that you will be really bad at? Salsa? Surfing? Rollerskating?
13. You can’t know everything.
Live your life with an open mind. You’ll never know everything about everything. Listen to people who think differently. Chances are there are things to be learnt.
Winston Churchill supposedly said: “A fanatic is someone who refuses to change”.
14. You learn about life from your mistakes.
You failed? Good. Remember, nothing is ever as bad as it seems. There’s a lesson to learnt behind every experience. Or, as american psychologist B.F Skinner put it: “A failure isn’t always a mistake, it might just be the best you could do given the circumstances. The real mistake would be to stop trying”.
15. Love is endless.
Don’t ever believe that there’s an end to much love you can feel. There will never be shortage of love – waste it as much as you can.
16. Express your feelings.
To be able to say “I love you” and express grief and frustration in a sensible way is the key to healthy relations in the future.
17. Life won´t be as it is on TV.
One of Bill Gates advices to all parents is to notify the children that TV isn’t reality: “In real life people must get up from the coffee shops and go to work”.
18. Turn off the internet.
Kids today can’t possibly know how life was like before smartphones and iPads. But you can. Show them. Take them to woods, build a treehouse or just look up at the sky for a few moments every day.
19. Take care of our nature.
The environment is something that effects everything around us. Therefor we must take care of it. Everything we do today will effect the way our earth looks tomorrow.
20. Love yourself.
As a parent you obviously love your child. But there will be a day when you’re not around and give them that love anymore. One of them most important things you can give your child is good self esteem. Self esteem has been defined as: To feel that you have a worth putting all titles, accomplishments and financial status aside. A person with good self esteem is often perceived as someone who is stable, accepting and friendly.
To give your child a chance at gaining good self esteem often has the effect that it will look after him or herself better, when it comes to things like sleep, food and general health. It could also mean that the child is better able to draw reasonable lines regarding other people. And it will be easier to handle events in life more balanced, without putting to much responsibility on oneself.
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This text is written by Zandra Lundberg. We are proud to publish it here at Newsner.
