School’s have motto’s. Company’s have mission statements. Blogs have taglines.
What do all these things have in common and what do they have to do with old fashioned motherhood?
It’s about purpose.
Purpose: The reason for which something exists, or is done, made, used, etc (dictionary.com)
Purpose give you clarity on what your next move should be when it comes to parenting. It’s so easy to get caught up in the moment when Tommy talks back to you or when Mary just slammed the door when you sent her to her room.
Or when little Johnny is throwing a tantrum in the grocery cart…again.
Purpose helps you to see the bigger picture.
It calms you down.
It reminds you that this obstacle is an opportunity (a hard one, I’ll admit) but an opportunity none the less to demonstrate your purpose.
Find Your Purpose
An easy way to think of what your parenting purpose is to think of a character quality that you would like your children or yourself to have.
Here are some examples:
- Patient
- Kind
- Honest
- Forgiving
- Fair
- Courageous
- Helpful
- Dependable
- Grateful
- Generous
- Encouraging
- Compassionate
- Diligent
- Cooperative
- Loving
- Creative
- Self-controlled
Next, find a quote or Bible verse that speaks to you about the character trait(s) that you chose.
Print out the quote, frame it and put it up on the wall where you will see it often.
Remember…
Just telling them, “You need to be grateful” or “You’re not playing nice, say you’re sorry” is probably not going to cut it here. Demonstrating that character yourself (I know! It’s hard!) and choosing your words to guide your little ones to that trait is going to stick much better.
What’s my parenting purpose?
I’ve decided to focus on the traits of compassion and helpfulness. Compassion because my littlest rascal is quite the fighter and frankly his aggressiveness was becoming a big problem. I figure compassion is a good way to nip that in the bud.
And I chose helpfulness because it was something that I wanted to work on myself.
I have definitely noticed a difference in our family when I parent with my purpose in mind. Not only am I more calm, but my rascals are more willing to listen and help.
And of course the reverse is true. As soon as I get lazy or lose sight of my purpose, my little rascal becomes a bully again and my other rascals aren’t so willing to help…and I turn into frazzled mama.
What do you think? Do you have a parenting purpose? How has is helped you?
