In today’s world, being a parent or guardian is becoming an increasingly challenging and complex responsibility. Heavy schedules, technological advancements, social media, financial obligations, and the ever-changing lifestyle we’ve undertaken all have resulted in numerous difficulties for parents. Balancing work, finances, household responsibilities, marriage, our children, and other miscellaneous duties has the potential to leave many parents physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. I’ll be the first one to admit that I’m still adjusting to all of the demands that I’m faced with on a daily basis and just how exhausting it can all be. Make no mistake; I genuinely love and cherish the role of father and all of the blessings and responsibilities it has bestowed upon me. Despite the obstacles and hardships that we face as parents, we consistently pursue the teachings of critical life skills and principles that will have an everlasting impact on our children for generations to come. The ones I place a great deal of significance in teaching my son include:

1. Resiliency: Kids quit too easy nowadays. I want to emphasize the importance of not backing down when you’re up against a wall or get knocked down. Many life lessons can be learned from the challenges and hurdles that life can throw at us sometimes. A person who falls and gets back up is much stronger than a person who never fell.
2. Hard Work: Hard work is a principle that is certainly still valued among society today. Even with the evolution the 21st century has undergone and the advancements in technology, people still respect and admire an individual putting in a honest day of hard work. Rolling up your sleeves, tackling projects, ideas, and assignments with vigor and determination, and doing whatever is requested of you to get the job done is something I don’t see getting outdated anytime soon.
3. Patience: Patience is, in my opinion, arguably the principle that I will stress the most to Colin. Nothing will come easy and overnight. The capacity to accept failure and the misfortunes of life are what set the majority of successful and unsuccessful people apart. You don’t always have control over everything life gives you; however, there’s one thing you can always control and that’s your attitude. Staying calm and tolerant when faced with a particularly difficult task or situation is more often than not the most efficient and effective way to resolve the issue.
4. Personable: I want him to love being around people and to never be scared to show them his authentic self. Furthermore, having the ability to converse with a variety and magnitude of individuals will be given meaning and purpose. Everybody in life has taken a different path and you should never lose sight of how much people appreciate you giving them their time and attention. Respectful, loving, and warm go along with a number of personality traits I aspire for him to possess when he’s older.
5. Gratitude: I want him to never forget where he came from, to always remember how fortunate he is, and to have a thankful appreciation for what he receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, he can acknowledge the goodness in his life at all times. I want him to give thanks continuously and to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing in his life.

Instilling these principles is going to require endless amounts of patience and persistence, in addition to continuous illustrations of these by myself and other role models that have influence on my son’s life. Plenty of mistakes will be made and swallowing my parental pride and admitting my mistakes won’t get any easier. However, I hope Colin will learn about resiliency, hard work, patience, how to be personable, and gratitude through these life lessons and more!

Thanks for reading!

— Chris