Fight – Don’t let life knock you out!

Have you ever been through a very tough situation and after it was over and done, you felt stronger?  You felt better about yourself due to the lesson you learned?  Each day presents a situation that will either pump you up and make you feel good about yourself, or it will feel like a Mike Tyson blow to the chest and take the wind right out of you.  You stagger and think to yourself “should I lay down, or will my knees stop wobbling. 

 

As parents, our job is to stand close to our children and make sure we reinforce and celebrate each daily success our children encounter.  We also are to be there to talk to our children to point out the lessons within every defeat.   We must make sure that each blow to the chest our children receive is accompanied by a discussion of what, why and how not to have that happen again.  Good parenting technique balances the punishment and the lesson of encouragement.

 

Our children receive daily lessons via media entertainment.  We parents must monitor what our children watch.  As well we should discuss the lessons the characters should have learned.  We can assist our children in thinking three moves ahead (chess strategy) in considering cause and effects of each decision they will be faced with.  The ability to see the whole picture and call an ace an ace and a spade a spade will give them courage to face the world.

 

I think that many people are neither born with, nor taught personal strength in character.  So when they take shots to the chest that life gives us all, they are more prone to knee buckles, collapse and TKO’s.  Many people you know may be lying in the middle of the ring, too scared to get up and face the next round.  Maybe they were born weak. Maybe daddy thought child support was his only responsibility and was not physically there to give them valuable life lessons.  Maybe mommy didn’t hug them enough and tell them that it will be okay.  We should constantly look at life as a boxing match.  We should assess our strength and speed as boxers and as trainers of our children.  If you know that you are a good trainer, look around and coach the young people in your neighborhood, reach out to build the strength of character of your children’s friends and your community.  

 

Don’t be knocked out!