As a parent, you want to encourage your child to crush goals and chase their dreams as they grow. You'll support them in all the ways you can, and it will mean a lot to them when you do.
What many parents don't realize is that it can be just as meaningful, if not more, for a child to watch their parents do those same things. Personal growth takes a lot of effort. It takes time, it takes concentration, and it can be easy to let it fall to the wayside when other things seem more pressing.
Applying the principle to kids' lives can be more impactful when they see you applying it to your own life. That's not to say you should be didactic or compare you and your child. But they organically learn from the way they watch you and take interest in your life, and you can use that to empower them in some of the most meaningful ways. Here are some of the ways your kids can benefit from watching you crush your mom goals.
Kids can learn about how the best-laid plans can go wrong.
If you're a mom pursuing a goal, big or small, you'll likely do a lot of planning. But as we know, in life — and especially the life of a parent — plans don't always work out. That's a concept that isn't easy for kids to understand when it happens to them. When they see it happen to you, they're watching how you handle disappointment or changes in plans. This gives you the opportunity to show them how to be adaptable and persevere.
Kids will learn how to make fewer excuses.
When you commit to something, you've got to really commit. That means sacrifice in many instances, especially for busy parents who have to make time in their tight schedules. If kids see you commit to goals without excuses, they'll realize what you can do when you don't make excuses. That won't just impact their own goal chasing, but change their perception of what it takes to make things happen on a larger scale. That kind of understanding can make kids more empathetic to the lives of other people, beyond their immediate interactions with them.
Kids will see they're in control.
Taking charge of a goal feels empowering to the person doing it. It also shows kids it's possible. By seeing the effects of how much or how little you put into pursuing your goals, kids will see they're in control of getting what they want. They'll see how their everyday actions play into something bigger, and it will get their wheels turning.
Kids will learn to take less for granted.
Kids who watch their parents pursue something with all their heart will learn not to take things for granted. They'll see the hard work and passion that goes into something you love, whether it's a houseplant or a business. When they understand how much work you put into one thing, they'll start to realize how much goes into everything else, delivering them some perspective that other kids will never get.
Kids can take goal-achieving attitudes into other areas of life.
Have you ever realized that when you pick up a good habit or get things going in a positive direction, everything else seems brighter? Forming good habits is the same way for kids. As your kids watch you set and achieve goals and learn the skills it takes to make them happen, they'll apply that to all different areas of their lives.