Parenthood.
It’s a journey, an experience, and an evolution like no other.
It changes the way you do, well, everything. From work, food, travel, fun, money, relationships and LIFE. There is an entire new person (or a few!) that needs to be considered, loved and cared for. It isn’t always easy, it isn’t always pleasurable – but when we dreamed up our baby, surely our goal WAS to enjoy it, love it, and cherish it right? You can, I promise that there is a way to find family life and parenting as enjoyable as possible.
Here are 4 Pillars from Carrie Contey, Phd, on ROCKING Family life.
1. In regard to your personhood: Check yourself.
Be responsible for checking in on your own emotional state. Often. Hold whatever you observe with kindness, not judgment or excuses. Think of it like the way you might talk to a friend who simply needs empathy. Turn to yourself with softness and check in often.
2. In regard to your parenting: Play first, then connect, then teach.
Children play because they have to. Humans love to explore external and internal environments through interaction. That interaction is play! Not reading, not a lecture – but play! Play is what allows the neurons in our brains to connect and gives us the ability to make sense of ourselves and our world. Play is essential to development and expression and creativity and learning and relationships and empathy and emotional intelligence and everything that makes us so wonderfully human. Kids play because they are inherently driven to align with their joy. Feeling joy is fun! It’s fun because it feels good. It feels good because it’s essential to who we are, deep down to the very core of our being-ness.
3. In regard to your partnership: Slow down, connect, enjoy.
Take more breaths. Look each other in the eyes when you are talking. Hug. Kiss. Give each other “high-fives.” Hold hands when you can. Find things to laugh about. Be silly and playful with each other, especially in the midst of parenting and doing chores and daily life. Make it fun. Make if funny. Find the humor in the absurdity of the fact that you committed to each other. And in being with each other you welcomed humans and in welcoming humans you don’t get to actually be with each other all that much!
4. In regard to your prosperity: What you appreciate, appreciates.
Take the time to appreciate your wealth and good fortune. Whatever it is in your life that brings up feelings of prosperity, acknowledge it and appreciate it. Say, “thank you” and celebrate what you have and what’s coming to you.
BONUS. Let it be.
Cut everyone around you, especially yourself, a whole lot of slack. Be like Teflon, let the annoyances slide off. Try to let at least 50% of what bunches you up . . . go.
If you love these tips from Carrie and want to learn more from her wisdom, I’d like to introduce you to Evolve. Evolve is not school. There’s no right way to use this program. Evolve is a vast and deep offering of thoughtfully curated information that has been proven to be valuable and useful to parents over the past 6 years. Everyone who participates in the program does it in ways that work for them. Some people are excited to consume everything that is shared. Some people pick and choose from what’s offered. Some people love being in the community on Facebook, some people never look at it. There are even a few folks who are just in it for the ability to ask questions for the monthly Q&A sessions.
Bottom line, if you are looking for support, guidance and inspiration this year, Evolve will deliver. The way you consume it is up to you. And every little bit of time invested will make a difference. Even if it’s just a few minutes a day. Check out the details and sign up today!
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