Important Words to Live By

As parents, or even simply as adults, we should be living by example. Easier said than done, trust me, I know it! But as we raise our children, we can’t be expecting them behave a certain way, act a certain way or treat others a certain way if we are not acting as such. Kids learn from example, and how we live our lives, they are likely to follow suit.

Before becoming parents, my husband and I would discuss how we wanted to raise our children and there were 3 main words that came to mind that we wanted to instill in their daily lives. These are things that are learnt and only mastered when practiced time and time again.

Realistically, we all have our off days. Illness, grief, unexpected changes, even a scheduling adjustment can all lead to not fulfilling these matters every single day, but the harder pressed and the more often we show these behaviors, the more examples are provided to our children and create stronger human beings for the future.

3 Important Words to Live By

Patience

A challenge for most of us, patience can truly get you through some very difficult times. Kids can really test your patience some days, but how we react and how we handle difficult situations can lead our children to know what is acceptable and what is not. This comes with practice, grace and time. Anything can set us off, from traffic, rude people, annoying comments or simply things not going our way or as planned. But having patience and flexibility to adjust to things as they come up, this teaches not only our children, but ourselves as well, that patience can keep situations calm and prevent stress, which is an ultimate silent killer.

Discipline

This is our family motto. It applies to every single thing we do in life. Every action has an equal reaction and based on our discipline, it can be good or bad. Personally, I live by a general schedule, and without it, I have a habit of slacking off. Our society has accepted laziness and created so many ways to allow more and more lazy avenues, that we can get away with and make excuses for not accomplishing what we have set out to do. Life throws us constant curve balls, which provide acceptable excuses. It is fighting past all of that noise and forcing ourselves to see through our goals that set us apart from the pack. We are only preventing ourselves from greatness the more we excuse our lack of trying.

Kindness

You can never go wrong with kindness. I like to say “Kill them with kindness” as a way to respond to someone or a situation that is completely unsavory because the opposing side that is not being kind, will look, and hopefully feel terrible for being nasty. By remaining calm, biting our tongue, showing respect when tested to do otherwise, not only shows kindness, it shows internal strength. Not to be mistaken with being walked all over. There is a fine line between fighting back and being a push over, but once found, it works wonders in life. Kindness also brings manners, which appears to be lacking in this world for many. We should be striving to raise the next generation to be respectful, kind and polite. Generations before us would never get away with half of what recent generations dare to attempt. Kindness goes a long way and can make the day of whomever is on the receiving end.

There you have it, our family’s 3 words that we live by. We live by example. We show these daily in a multitude of different ways. This, in no way, shows perfection, that is a near impossible goal. But even minor examples and actions of these 3 things each and every day, show our children what is expected of them and how they should live their lives. Mistakes will be made, acting out will happen and bad days will come, but how we respond, how we react, how we handle each situation as it comes, continue to teach by example.

What is your family motto? Or what word do you try to live by? We can all learn from each other and we all have room for improvement.

Melanie xoxox