Always fun? (there’s more to gain than just having fun)
I came across this article by Brooke Romney and I love it, so of course I had to share it. Take some time to go and read it, it is so worth the read and it isn’t long.
If you don’t take the time to go read the whole article I included her last couple paragraphs in the post because I love what she had to say at the end and if we as parents could only change our focus for our kids that life experiences are about perspective, attitude and some down right hard work and not just about experiences that they see as “fun” I think we will see amazing outcomes.
Here is the excerpt from Brooke Romney’s article “Why we are taking the fun out of life”
She says… “So this year we are turning over a new leaf in our home. We are still huge advocates of enjoying life, seeing the positive and taking it all in. We want to travel with our kids and show them the wonders of nature and different cultures. We love to play sports, take walks, visit the theater, attend concerts, hike, play games, swim, watch movies and just be together.
But this year we will work hard together too. We will create memories and strengthen relationships as we accomplish difficult things together. We will hold our boys accountable for their efforts in our family, in school, in sports, in music, in hobbies and in their church duties. We will no longer ask our kids if they had fun because, frankly, we don’t care. They can choose to make every experience fun if they want to. It’s up to them and absolutely possible. But we will no longer worry about creating fun for them or shielding them from hardships, unpleasantness or, heaven forbid, boredom. We want them to reap more than fun from this existence. We want them to be fulfilled. We want them to reach their potential. We want them to be excellent.
We will change our focus and ask one of these questions:
- “Did you learn something?”
- “Did you feel productive?”
- “Did you work hard?”
- “Did you try your best?”
- “Were you a good friend?”
- “Did you try something new?”
- “Did you push yourself?”
- “Did you make someone’s day better?”
- “Did you add value?”
- “Did you create something?”
- “Did you grow?”
- “Did you discover something?”
- “Did you change the world today, even in a small way?”
When you can answer yes to any of those questions, that’s when life gets really fun”.
