For this to happen there is one aspect in our life that is completely in our control and that is our health and fitness. The positive effects of effort we put into being physically fit and leading a healthy lifestyle percolates down to other areas of life.
In this fast paced stressful life, eating has become an addiction. We resort to food for any emotional reaction whether we are sad or angry or joyful or failed at something or achieved something. We need to develop healthy eating habits for our child to be conscious about the food they consume. Childhood Eating Habits typically Continue Into Adulthood. We are what we eat, so our eating habits may make or break our overall wellbeing in future.
Physical activities, playing sports and regularly exercising makes you a fit and healthy person. It builds discipline and self-confidence. It makes us stand out among others. It natures sportsmanship. Follow a consistent fitness routine to inspire our children to go be physically involved in sports and games instead of spending time in house playing video games or watching TV. Playing outdoor games would instill competitive spirit and let them experience the importance of teamwork in early age.
According to latest researches lack of sleep is more dangerous than not exercising or having unhealthy diet. Lack of sleep is major reason behind many mental and metabolic ailments. We need to maintain a healthy sleep routine and then expect our kids to have a good night’s rest instead if spending time with mobiles or TV.
Do not smoke, do not consume alcohol and abuse medicines/drugs. Never fall into peer pressure yourself first and then we can expect our children to have self-control when they are pressured into such situations.
Develop an excellent work ethic and respect for time. Be punctual in starting to office on time and reaching home on time. Never be late to any appointment whether at work or at home. Children watch us managing tasks with efficiency which inspires them be diligent in school and later in life.
Nothing worth comes easy. If great things were easy to achieve anyone could have had all desirable things in life. We need to develop the persistence to delayed gratification. We need to be able to sacrifice good things today to experience great things later. We need to demonstrate this to our children through our choices and well planned decisions.
Handle stressful situations with stability. Anybody can smile, care, share and be loving when everything is hunky dory around them. It takes a great deal of patience and restraint to keep a smile on our face and be a pillar of strength for others in times of difficulties. Our show of strength and equilibrium during tough times would become stories to our kids which teach them to keep moving forward when life gets tough.
Now a days we are bombarded with so much of information through various media. To be wealthy, be successful, be beautiful or handsome, wear something to look cool, to apply something on your body to get something. We have so many distractions around us to influence our way of living, our judgement, how we feel about ourselves, our lifestyle. Anybody and anything can take advantage of our insecurities. As a parent we need to have high self-esteem and be conscious to make independent decisions.
Comparisons could lead to unhappiness and dissatisfaction in life. Make sure that our kids are appreciated for what they are and demonstrate that our self-worth comes from within.
Teach our kids that there is no overnight success and talent seldom beats disciplined hard work. Even a small activities like folding the blanket after waking up or brushing the teeth at night if done consistently without missing builds self-confidence. When we could do boring insignificant things daily with discipline, it develops a mindset of commitment. The same things that are easy to do are also the ones that are easy not to do. Consistent growth and progress is more important than the end goal or success.
Developing good habits in early stages of life is very important as they continue lifelong. The values our kids embrace at early stages would create their identity and defines their self-image. For example, being honest and saying truth in important irrespective of the end result. Teach them, show them, lead them by being honest, having integrity in what you say or do, showing accountability and taking full responsibility of the decisions you take, showing up and keep your promises you made to yourself and others.
*Do read the Disclaimer
References:
Some excerpts taken from inspirational talks of motivational speakers