If you’ve spent more than a few minutes perusing through my website, you’ll notice a running theme interwoven into my content on nutrition, fitness, faith, and family/parenting.
The answer to being healthier, more fit, or more purposeful in your parenting isn’t more willpower or even more motivation. It’s a matter of setting SMART goals that are tied to your core values, committing to following through with those goals, and having a clear FOCUS. It’s about simplifying your life, making time for the things that matter, and eliminating the distractions that pull you away from your purpose. Whatever it is that you want to achieve in your life, the more focused you are, the more effective you’ll be. The same is true for our parenting.
We all want to be “better” moms, spend more “quality time” with our children, and connect with our kids on a “deep emotional level,” but just like with diet and exercise, if we try to change too many things at once we set ourselves up for failure. When we zero in on one or two things that we want to implement or improve upon we can do them more effectively and make a bigger impact.
When you participate in one of my online challenge groups or one-on-one coaching programs, you’ll find that the first thing we do is set SMART goals – goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. If your goal is to “lose weight” or to “spend more time with your kids,” you’ll never really know if you’ve achieved that goal unless you specify how and by when you are going to reach that goal.
A few months ago, I stumbled upon the site Inspired to Action, a blog about “building your game plan for motherhood.” Step One was to write a “Mom Mission Statement” – a statement about the type of parent you aspire to be – using the author, Kat Lee’s, free e-book as a guide.
You might be thinking, “Really? What kind of mom needs a mission statement?”
The answer is – a PURPOSEFUL one. A mom who has a clear focus and vision for her parenting so she can be intentional with her time.
My Mom Mission Statement is, “I will love and encourage my children to grow physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually by modeling Christ-like behavior and being intentional in my parenting.”
What does this look like?
For me, this means intentionally setting aside time for activities that promote my children’s physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual development. It means setting an example for my children by taking care of my own health, seeking to grow and learn as a parent, spending time in God’s word, and modeling what it means to be a follower of Christ. As a follower of Christ, I commit to putting Him first, to following the truths in the Bible, and to living a life that honors and glorifies Him.
I encourage you to develop your own Mom Mission Statement. Write it down and share it in the comments.
To encourage you to become the mom in your mission statement, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite activities to help children grow physically, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually on my blog (see section called Focused On Family Blog). I invite you to try them out, post your comments, and share other activities that you would add to the list so we can support one another in our parenting efforts. My hope is that implementing these activities will enable you to become more purposeful and intentional with your parenting while also building stronger relationships with your kids.
Call to Action: Share your Mom Mission Statement and any resources you may need or are currently using with your kids to encourage their growth. (Remember to focus on just one or two things at a time! For example, 10 minutes of prayer/devotion with your kids before bed and 15 minutes of reading/literacy building activities.)
