Parenting: Fatigue is a Parent’s Worst Enemy (and Constant Companion)
An almost unavoidable part of parenting – unless, I suppose, you have a cadre of full-time nannies – is exhaustion, both physical and mental. Too little sleep, too few respites, and too little time dedicated to your own needs can all contribute to a state of deep fatigue that leaves you, at best, lethargic and unmotivated and, at worst, depressed or physically ill. And exhaustion leaves you without the energy to send healthy messages to your children to boot. Even worse, fatigue leads to expediency – one of the most harmful words in parenting – which means acting in your self-interest rather than what is best for your children. Unfortunately, “self-interest” and “good parenting” don’t play well together. If you’re exhausted, you’re naturally drawn to doing what requires the least amount of effort and energy. If you’re being expedient, you have probably given up on sending healthy messages to your children. So, for example, you give your daughter the cookie before dinner to stop her from whining even though it will ruin her appetite or you buy your son that toy in the supermarket checkout line because you don’t want him to make a scene. Easiest short-term solution? Definitely. Best long-term message? Definitely not.
Read MorePersonal Growth: Five Building Blocks of Positive Life Change
In my last post, I described how difficult changing your life can be and the four obstacles that you must overcome to achieve meaningful and long-lasting change. Yes, change is difficult, despite the “quick and without any effort” claims of motivational speakers and self-help books. The reality is that nothing of value in life, including […]
Read MoreSki Racing: All Focus, No Distractions
Focus may be the most misunderstood mental factor among racers. Most racers think of focus as concentrating on one thing really hard for a long time. In fact, a number of years ago, former Olympic champion said that she improved her skiing by staring at her skis for ten minutes a day. She may have […]
Read MoreSki Racing: YouTubes of Manfred Pranger: Use of Mental Imagery and Getting Fired Up
Here are two YouTube videos of Manfred Pranger that beautifully illustrate the use of mental imagery and “fire-up” self-talk in race preparation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8dtZfI2YqE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtDZm6uHwgM&feature=related
Read MorePersonal Growth: Four Obstacles to Positive Life Change
Change is essential for your growth and development as a person. Without change, you are assured of staying just the way you are and doing things just the way you have always done them. For some people, that’s a good thing; they’re happy and fulfilled in their lives. But for many people, the current path […]
Read MoreSki Racing: Forced vs. Guided Participation
The journey of raising your children to become successful begins with their participation in achievement activities such as ski racing. The goal of this involvement isn’t necessarily to find success in those early activities; that’s not always possible. Rather, this participation should initiate the process of instilling the values, attitudes, and life skills that are […]
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