As a parent, you have four ways of taking action…
- You do what other people tell you to do. Husband. Friend. Relative. Your TV.
- You react instinctively, emotionally.
- You unconsciously act out of habit. Your brain is wired for a particular behavior pattern.
- You consciously evaluate your situation and your options and decide what to do.
Do you sometimes think about why you do what you do? If not, you may not be as in control of your day as you think.
There are good habits. There are bad habits.
There are good decisions. There are bad decisions.
If you aren’t trying to improve how you parent, if you unconsciously acquire behavior patterns and do things you later regret, you may be out of control.
Not many people consciously think about why they do things. It’s as if their lives are on cruise-control.
But all actions have consequences. Some small. Some big. Some huge. The consequences show up, influence your life and cause you to take more action. The more aware you are of how your actions impact a chain of events, the more you’re in control.
When making decisions, consciously evaluating your options helps you gain control of a situation.
How about you? How often are you in control? How often are you aware of how and why you do things?
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