What kids teach you

How often do you just completely stop and savor a nice moment??

One of my favorite parts of being a parent is that my kids are constantly reminding me to find little moments of joy in my everyday life.?

Whether it's the awe in their eyes when they experience something for the first time or their present-moment orientation, being a parent can be a great opportunity to live vicariously through them. This is especially true if you are a future-oriented busy parent.?

My typical morning routine has a machine-like efficiency to it. Feed the kids breakfast, pack their lunch, get them ready and drop them off the minute daycare opens. I have not a second to waste. I am a morning person and I want to use my precious morning energy to tackle my most important and thought-intensive tasks of the day. As soon as I drop them off, I run up the stairs (gotta get some steps in and cardio) and I rush to work. This is inherently a future-oriented outlook.?

A few days ago, I was in a typical rush when I noticed my daughter stop. I turned around and she was slowly examining the flowers. She smelled them and said “They smell good, Isabella made them.” Isabella is her favorite character from Disney’s Encanto, who has a flower-making superpower.?

That snapped me out of my own head and gave me an energizing chuckle. My daughter is here in the present while I am somewhere in some made-up place in the future that hasn’t happened yet and might not happen how I think it will. There must be thousands of books, articles and videos telling us “to be in the present moment,” yet how many of us actually listen. There is even a pre-internet cliche, “stop and smell the roses.” Even with all the content telling me to be present, I’ve rarely ever implemented it, but here is my daughter naturally doing it. It was beautiful and heart-warming and inspiring and all the mushy things that parents feel for their kids.?

Parenting Insights

As parents we might be seduced into thinking that we are only here to teach our children and that learning flows in one direction. I am beginning to think that is the wrong line of thinking.?

Our children have not yet been inundated with tasks, or goals, or have fought the friction that comes with daily corporate work. That makes them a getaway into what pure unfiltered joy looks like. It is an example of what we can be and ultimately what all of us work so hard for. There are 1,440 minutes in a day, can you take just 1 minute to smell a rose? What about one-half of that minute to hug your child or laugh with them when they do something silly. Absolutely.?

Stay grounded.?

Productivity Insights

Thinking about work is important when it’s reflective, constructive, and/or intentional. However, any minute of hurried angst caused by work is straight-up unproductive. That minute, and more ideally, is better spent taking a break, grounding yourself in the present, or doing something that brings you joy. When you do inevitably get back to work, you will be more clear-minded, productive, and energized.?

Disengage temporarily to re-engage with vigor.?