I was scrolling through some baby photos of my children the other day looking for a particular one and I was reminded of a change in perspective I often looked to when either boy was crying. When I was a new parent I used to do what I could to stop my child from crying when they started. As the months went on, one particular child was harder to soothe than the other and I realized that instead of trying to stop the crying, I should try to make him laugh (which ultimately lead to no crying).
My goal flipped. Instead of trying to make my son less sad or angry or any other negative emotion he was feeling, I decided to make him more happy, and more content and more excited. This way of thinking can be used as they grow into adulthood as well. As they are starting relationships it’s important to find someone that makes you happy and lifts you up instead of looking for someone to take away their loneliness or sadness.
Such a slight difference, but an important one. In the first instance we are focusing on getting rid of a negative, whereas the second we are looking to grow the positive.
Let’s all work to grow the positive and create a more awesome world us and our children.