Life is full of surprises. Some of those surprises are good and we can embrace and celebrate them. An upcoming vacation, a new role at work, your child bringing home a great report from school, a new driver in the house. (Okay, that last one might be a mixed blessing, but it’s still a sign of progress.)
And sometimes surprises aren’t so good and can be the catalyst for changing your life. We’ll get to that in a bit.
Usually, the beginning of the year is when we think about making big changes and goals to be the best version of ourselves. But really, any time of year is a good time to take stock of what’s important and set new intentions for the future.
And, as parents, this is a great process to go through with your children too. Let them determine what’s important to them and have conversations about it. You might just gain some new insights into their way of thinking and learn something new about one another in the process.
Rank the Important Parts of Life
Some seasons of life are for focusing on family or a specific subject area in school, others are for focusing on friendships or school, and still others are for focusing on talents and passions or faith. Yes, all of these are important but they can’t all be top priorities all the time.
List the most important parts of your life and rank them by what you’re feeling called to focus on right now. It’s okay if your priorities don’t match your partner’s or your children’s. This is all very personal!
What Do You Talk About the Most
If you’re struggling with figuring out what’s most important to you right now, think about what you talk about the most or feel pulled to spend the most time doing. If your child talks about a sport they play or a project they’re loving, these might be where they want to focus most of their time right now.
While it’s true that a class or project they’re struggling with might be really important (after all, it needs their time and attention so they can improve), it’s equally important that they put time and energy into something that brings them joy. This is often forgotten in seasons of stress.
Become Detectives Together
Maybe you’re still struggling to figure out what’s most important to you or your child seems stressed over the responsibility of listing what’s important to them. Turn it into a game! For 24 hours, pay attention to what they spend time on and what they talk about, and ask them to do the same for you. Be private detectives for one another!
At the end of 24 hours, reconvene and report on your findings. Maybe you said your health and wellness was of utmost importance to you, but your child “caught” you drinking a soda and skipping your workout. And maybe your teen said that perfecting a musical instrument was really important to them, but they didn’t pick it up once during the past day.
Our actions can speak really loudly and if your actions don’t follow your intentions, then it might be time to reevaluate.
Why What’s Important is So Important
Life doesn’t always turn out the way we planned and hoped. As we all get older, we realize that we’re not invincible and time is shorter than we expected. So figuring out what’s important during each season of life is…well…important. It allows us to live fully in the time we have so we leave no regrets behind. I think this is a great lesson for our kids.
This was the case for a fellow educator I interviewed a few months ago for my podcast, Education Evolution. Jon Acton enjoyed a 30-year career in education when suddenly he and two of his colleagues were all diagnosed with stage 3 cancer within just a few months of one another.
Together they founded Broken Shells, which helps to remind people to embrace the imperfect in their lives and to live from a place of “why not.” Is travel on your heart? Why not go travel? Want to learn a new skill? Why the heck not?
It’s such a touching conversation and a good reminder to live in the present and take the opportunities that come to you.
I hope you’ll not only listen in but help inspire the young people in your life to live from a place of “why not” and to follow what’s important to them right now.