You can look at all the negative in the world. You can focus on the dark clouds above. Or you can look for the silver lining, the bright spots. We have that expression about whether the glass is half full or half empty. Well, what worldview are you going to teach your children? Are you going to fill your house with doom and gloom? Or are you going to teach your kids to hope, to believe in their ability to make a difference, to find the opportunity inside the obstacles that life presents? The author Alex Haley once said that he believed his job as a writer was to “find good and praise it.” That fits in a parent’s job description too. We’re always going to have more success rewarding good behavior in our kids than punishing bad behavior. Looking for what we want to see in them and making that our focus is going to get us much further than seeking out conflict and engaging in criticism. This principle extends to our perceptions and portrayal of the world as well. It’s better for everyone to talk up what we want to see instead of constantly bemoaning all the evil and wrongness that we can’t seem to escape.
We have a choice: Inspire or disillusion. Empower or depress. What will it be?