40 Things I Want to Tell My Kids Before They’re Too Cool to Listen

“Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
―Margaret Mead

Seven weeks ago today, Angel gave birth to our son Mac. The experience was miraculous. As every parent can attest, the miracle of childbirth takes on a whole new meaning when it’s YOUR child being born. It’s one of those life experiences you can’t fully grasp until you live through it.

Anyway, I awoke this morning thinking about the whole experience, and two thoughts immediately came to mind:

How in the world did Angel and I suddenly become parents? Whoa!
There are so many things I want to tell Mac – as soon as possible, before he’s in school with his friends and too cool to listen. And before Angel and I go from “mommy and daddy who knows best” to “mom and dad who couldn’t possibly understand.”

So in no particular order, here are 40 things I intend tell him (and his sister or brother when they come along):

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. – Don’t base your attitude on how things are. Choose your attitude so it supports and expresses the way you wish to be. Frustration and stress come from the way you respond and react, not the circumstance themselves. Adjust your attitude, and the frustration and stress is gone.
What you experience starts with your perception. – In almost every case, nothing is stopping you… nothing is holding you back but your own thoughts about yourself and “how life is.” Your perception creates your beliefs. And your beliefs create your behaviors. And your behaviors produce your experience.
Let go of the need to complain about life. – Spend your moments actually living its beauty. Change the phrase “have to” to “get to.” So many things we complain about are things others wish they had the chance to do. (more…)