HI! A friend and fellow Inspirer asked for some insight about WHY we do what we do? What gives us PASSION, what gives us ENERGY to keep moving forward? What is your WHY?? Think about it, write it down, it might be a little more motivating than you realize…
My WHY is My family. I do everything I do for my kids health and well being. I’m working harder now to spend time on the beach later with my Hubby when we are old and our kids are wildly successful and can take care of us (play along, I have faith).
Drew Elizabeth surely will, that Joshua of mine could be writing a different story, and that’s ok. That’s my goal! MY WHY! For my kids to write their own story, not according to someone else’s goals, or a school’s goals, or a society’s goal, or a textbook’s goals, or a friend’s goals, or my goals… I want to help my kids be stronger and think bigger than that, for them… that’s where true happiness and success come from. That hierarchy with “self actualization” at the top that Maslow shared with us… That’s the goal!
My life, my childhood, my adolescence (oh my, the adolescence), my adulthood, my education, my knowledge, my job experience, my life experience, my health challenges have all collectively lead me to who I am today, and make me more passionate about the well being of my children emotionally and mentally, as well as intellectually and physically. All are equally important, but I feel like we don’t honor this collectively as a society. We strive for awards and grades and scholarships and jobs and houses, but we don’t necessarily strive for HAPPY the same way. We don’t strive for contentment, mindfulness, peace. We strive for a job, places, objects… what is that?
I have sensitive kids, most kids are, some more than others. Both of mine have their own challenges that we have to learn to navigate as a family (don’t we all). I have watched their emotional health change as they have navigated the childhood into adolescence. Emotions are not always obvious, sometimes not obvious at all. Underneath the report cards, the participation awards, the attendance awards, where are the “I rock at being like ME and no one else” awards? Where are the “just be you and be happy awards”? Where are the emotional health awards? We need to be way more aware of the expectations we place on kids and the signs and consequences of childhood anxiety.
I don’t want my kids to be like everyone else, I want them to be an individual. I think all parents do. I don’t want my kids to need the latest trends, to fit into the right crowd, or worry about pleasing an adult. I need my kids to be emotionally secure to be functioning, successful adults that add to society, not distract from it. Be the positive, not the negative.
Growing up is hard, I struggled. Most people thought I was that kid whose family owned one of the big companies in town and had it all… HA! Really?? Don’t be so naive… None of us have it all! We all have expectations to meet! Did those expectations make you stronger or make you more anxious? Did those deadlines and rules make you stronger or more anxious because you worried you weren’t going to be or do good enough? Did you do the best you possibly could because of the path life took you on, or did you take the easy way out? Is it really the easy way out? Those are the questions that are part of my WHY?
WHY? Because I need to constantly be striving for being the best me I can be. I have 2 of the most important people in the world watching. I do know that I only need to be to be better than my yesterday self. That is my goal, that is my Why. That is what I am trying to teach my kids.
Write Your OWN Story!
My Why 🙂
Enjoy the Journey! 😉 -Kp
Health and Wellness w Katie 