Inspiring the Future

The words “children are the future of our world,” resonate daily across the globe. When we see good statistics on school grades, the census is that we are educating our future well. What happens when grades are low, or youth delinquency is on a rise? Does this mean that we are creating a future, where these will be the trends? Maybe, this just means we need to find a way to inspire the youth of today, to see an inspirational future.

With 5 children, ranging in age from 2 to 24, boys and girls, I see a varied spectrum of interests for each. While one is all about sports and vampire books, this bores others. The same is true for most children, very view have the exact same interests. They will have similarities, but seldom the same. Thus, each child requires an individual perspective and approach to keep them engaged. As parents, we become familiar with the ever changing likes and dislikes of our children. Using this knowledge, we strive to find what we can do as a family, that will satisfy everyone’s desires and keep their attention peaked. Let’s be honest, we are all looking for something they will all agree on, to avoid a meltdown in the middle of a family weekend. What if there was a way to achieve exactly that?

In the search for peace in my house, I have decided the only way to achieve it, is to inspire my children to achieve it. Each of my children have an interest in games and baseball/softball. Working with this base to form the foundation for group activities will give me at least 20 minutes of agreement. Next comes individual interests. Each week another interest can be added to family activities, with the understanding that, they do not have to like said activity, they just have to explore it. Like, trying a bite of new foods, before deciding they are disgusting. For example, 2 of my children love Harry Potter, 2 others were not interested. So, one weekend, that was what we watched. Everyone had to sit and watch part of the movie, then after awhile, if still uninterested, they could do something else. Turns out, they all enjoyed the movies, and mom got to sit and watch a couple hours of tv with minimal frustration. A win, win situation.

Thus, if we want our future to be an inspirational one, we need to teach our children to make it that way. Negativity and conflict, breed more of the same. So too, positivity and peace, breed the same. If we give choices, with a try first approach, we can breed this positivity and peace. Thereby, setting the stage for a positive future. Teaching our children to make good choices is excellent, inspiring them to try new things and make educated choices, is even better.

So what will we inspire today? I personally am set out to inspire love, peace, and educated choices.

Mary

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Reaching Your Dreams

Setting goals in life, is a natural thing. We set goals for college, family, car, jobs, etcetera. How many people actually set goals for their dreams? I too, am guilty of not setting goals for my dreams, until recently that is.

As a mother to 6 children, from 2years to 24 years, and a recent college graduate, goals are a daily part of life. We have goals for chores, grades, family time, and the all important sports. However, until about 2 months ago, I did not have goals to fulfilling my dreams. Then it hit me, as I was staring at my computer, wondering how I was ever going to achieve the things that make me the happiest, I cannot achieve them if I have not set a priority to do so. Now I have a goal set for following my dreams, and plan a part of my goals in my daily routine. One of my life long dreams has been to write, and I have done so for personal satisfaction since I was a little girl. We don’t need to discuss how many years that is, let’s just say a long while. What to do about making this happen? How am I going to finish the book I started writing last summer? I am a mother and wife after all, there is no time for other things, right? Wrong!

This is where my decision for goal setting to meet my dreams came in. I have set a personal goal as to when I want to have the book finished. This in turn puts my book on my daily schedule of priorities. Now, like everything in life, I can see a way of achieving what I dream about, and dreaming becomes a reality.

While I work towards the goal of completing my book, I have set some smaller goals as well, (like writing this blog post), to help me achieve my dream of writing. And just like that, as soon as I push publish on this post, I have achieved, at least part of my dream of becoming a writer.

Our dreams are what make life worth living. So, make a plan, set your goals, and follow your dreams. Dream big and live your dreams.

Mary