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Last Friday, I walked my daughter to dance class. At one busy intersection, despite having looked both ways and waited for the best time to continue, we were halfway across the street when my daughter pulled my finger and began to run. On the other side, she turned and said to me, “Daddy, I saved you.”
I was never afraid that we would not make it to the other sidewalk. We were too far ahead of the oncoming cars to feel threatened. Nonetheless, I went along with her victory.
My daughter was full of pride as we continued our walk towards ballet class. I listened, as she talked more: “I love you. You’re the best daddy alive, and I wouldn’t want anything to ever happen to you.” I smiled.
Meanwhile, my soul said to me: This is success.
Too often, we look for success and happiness in people, places, and things outside of ourselves, family, and friends. We want approval from our boss and seek recognition through pay raises. It is also common to define success by the type of home we own and the community where we reside. With our jobs, entrepreneurial ventures, household responsibilities, school assignments and other important activities, it is feasible not to recognize the small gifts of life all around.
I say “we” intentionally, because I am also guilty of these actions and occasionally fail to acknowledge the simple everyday accomplishments or moments like last week with my daughter.
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In the past two weeks, I have experienced some triumphs and multiple challenges. All three of our children needed new shoes. My wife and I were blessed to purchase three pairs from a local store. On Monday, I was excited to receive the formatted version of my first book from the publisher. The PDF of my book came within days of news that I was not selected for two jobs I had believed were a good fit for my business and family. It has been a tough couple of weeks, during which it was easy to ignore the small benefits of life and harbor everything that went wrong.
Yesterday, I had to channel my inner discipline to stop, think, and appreciate my daughter’s words.
As an entrepreneur and man who feels the weight of providing for a family, I frequently feel consumed by my work. There is always something to do that can potentially serve others and return a profit. However, reminding myself to be more mindful and making time at the start of each week to create a weekly schedule has become extremely beneficial in maintaining sanity!
On Sunday mornings, I schedule the most critical business tasks, self-care activities, and family-related responsibilities. Yes, challenges frequently occur. The time I allocate for an assignment takes longer than I expect, or the kids have an unexpected day off from school.
It is difficult to accomplish everything that I desire in the allocated time. However, disciplining myself to identify my weekly goals and creating a schedule that supports them has been critical to maintaining humility and seeing progress in my business and personal objectives.
Throughout March, my goal is to create content that inspires others to practice more self-discipline in their lives. If you apply the strategies that I suggest, they can enable you to better manage your work responsibilities and have more mindful time with loved ones. Practicing more self-discipline can empower you to define success and happiness for yourself.
Please stay connected with me and let’s build a community of men who are dedicated to improving our lives and the lives of others.
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Photo Credit: Getty Images