I listened to a podcast the other day from James Altucher. He has the great idea of writing down 10 ideas a day. A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. Ok, so why!!? Why would I spend time coming up with any ideas.
It’s like exercise. You want to keep your brain firing, and that requires that the muscle be used. And used often. Daily, if you will.
I got Tatum a little journal, and she is to come to me weekly with her 10. Now, I must look in the mirror. Am I doing this? Am I “ideating” daily? It’s about time I start thinking outside my box. It’s also time for me to start writing again. How can I write if I have ZERO ideas?? So, here I go. I started yesterday.
In the meantime, I desire to grow certain skills in Tatum. Before she is “launched” there are 40 lessons I seek to have instilled into her. This requires humility on my part because if I am not doing these things, then how can I expect them of her? Here’s a silly example. She has a middle drawer in her bedroom which we spent time making neat. She rolls each shirt and puts them away. I opened it the other day, and there were shirts all over. (the bottom layer still in tact). I showed it to her, not to reprimand her, but to just ask if she could try a bit harder to keep it neat. Then….oh boy…..then, I went into my bedroom to change my shirt. My chifforobe has a shelf which houses my tank tops. It USED to be organized, but now, I (wince) kind of just put the shirts in (more roly poly than rolled). Look in the mirror, Steph.
So, as I learn to come up with ideas daily, I’m also realizing that I can’t expiate of her to do what I am not doing myself; I’m learning that parenting is really about who WE are and being the best of ourselves. Holy Spirit gives us the power to live and walk humbly before our God.
So, I begin my list. I borrowed much of it from the Art of Parenting by Dennis Rainey. I will write more about this later.
I love you, Tot. You make me a better person.