Have you ever lived or worked with someone with a very
sour attitude – who just finds something to be grumpy about? If it’s not the
food, then it’s the weather, or the boss, or the fact that today is not
yesterday. It can be draining dealing with such people, and it makes one wonder
how they ended up being the way they are. Is it that they don’t know any better
or something went terribly wrong along the line?
As parents, we desire to raise mature children, whose
presence wherever they are, will be a blessing, an addition and not a problem
or deduction. Also, having a positive presence, or just being happy is crucial
to the level of influence anyone can have. It is our responsibility as parents
to train and equip our children with the insights required to live life on a
higher plane – the height of gratitude, positivity, and influence. We do not
intend to put us under any form of pressure, but to highlight simple everyday
activities that we can take as parents to groom our children for positivity and
happiness.
The Good In Each Day – Anyone can have
seemingly horrible, no-good days and sulk about it, but it takes another, with
a higher level of awareness to see the good in everyday and celebrate it. These
people are those who truly reign in life. Make it a point of duty to share
something good that happened each day with your children and ask them for
theirs too.
We have higher propensity for bad news; hence, we might be quicker to
share the unfavourable events that happened – the biker you almost ran into,
the colleagues that got the brunt of your boss’ anger, e.t.c., and sometimes by
sharing, especially with our children, we hope there’s a lesson in the story
for them to learn or even try to highlight the lessons for them.
What we need to realize is that it is not only from
unseemingly bad events that one can draw lessons from; our children can also
learn from the good events too. Help them tune their antenna to receive that
kind of signal/frequency to see the good and the positive in others so that
they grow up noticing the good, and are quick to share it. This does not mean
that we should raise them in a cocoon, shielding them from the bad. Of course, we can share the bad events we go
through, but we should always try to see the good in every day and get our kids
to see them too. If they are not going to give up on life too early, they need
that positive energy that gratitude gives in other to thrive in life.
The Good You Have – Research has shown that
the happiest and most effective people are those who have learnt to focus on
what they have. Every day, endeavour to share what you are grateful for and
encourage others to do likewise. It could be simple blessings that are taken
for-granted that would’ve helped them realize that gratitude shouldn’t just be
for the seemingly extra-ordinary things, but for every blessing, no matter how
minute we think they are. Kids could even be better at this than adults as they
see the good in very minute things we laugh off, so encourage this tendency in
them.
The Good You Can Do – Everyday share
something good you have done, with an attitude of gratitude. Help your kids
realize that one of the greatest blessings of living is the privilege to do
good to others. The benefit of this is that it helps the children not to tune
their happiness to what they need, but to shift their focus off themselves and
truly live. Teach them to be grateful for the opportunity to be good to others
– and let them know it is not bragging right but a privilege to be good to
someone every day.
Happiness lies in
being grateful for who we are, what we have, and the good we can do. Strengthen
this perception in your kids, and you just might be on your way to raising the
happiest kids ever
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