Please Read This Book

 

There are four types of people who should read "Building Better Families: A Practical Guide to Raising Amazing Children" by Matthew Kelly:

• Those who are currently parenting other human beings.
• Those who are thinking about parenting other human beings.
• Those who have parented other human beings.
• Those who are human beings.

I picked up the audio CD of this book at my local library, and I knew within the first 15 minutes of listening that it was going to have a major impact on how I communicate with and raise my children. Zach seconded that notion when he listened to it.

In my opinion the best personal development books aren't the ones that spout radically new ideas on how to live your life. Instead, they shed light on and give a name to ways to accomplish the things that you know you want in life, but haven't really given much thought about.

Of course we all want to raise happy, well-adjusted kids who appreciate that we want the best for them. But how do you do that?

Kelly writes that parents are leaders -- not unlike CEOs of companies -- and that they are responsible for setting the mission, vision, and values for the family. Leadership does not come naturally or easily for most people, and he outlines the traits that good leaders possess: tough, but fair; decisive; the ability to persevere and be persuasive, among others.

His primary theme is that families are in place so that its members can help each other "become the best version of themselves." That vision, should you choose to adopt it, can be the north star by which every decision in your household is made.

The question "Should I work out today?" can be answered via another question: "Is that going to help me become a better version of myself?"

"Mom, can I go a party this Saturday?"
"What will be going on there? Where will it be? Who will be there? Are the things that you'll be exposed to there going to help you become the best version of yourself?" (I can see the eye-rolling already!)

Drew's been in Kindergarten for three months, but it only took a few weeks for me to realize that I'm going to have step up my game, parenting-wise. Now that he's at school for more hours in the day than he's at home, all the things we've worked to put in place for the first years in his life can come unraveled quickly if we're not careful.

Kelly touches on conflict, culture, teaching kids about finances, and more. Since I was listening in the car, I frequently had to go inside and jot down notes so I didn't forget some of the great points in the book. No worry, though -- we'll be buying a hard copy to reference in the future. I think you should, too.

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Workout of the Day

P90X One on One, Vol. 3: Back and Base