I had an epiphany today. Set an intention not a constraint. What do I mean by this? I’ll give you an example.
If I put my son to bed, say I want him to be asleep by x time. If I’m lucky he will fall asleep before or by that time. But typically he will not. And I’ll end up frustrated and disappointed. That’s a constraint.
If I say “tonight when I put my son to bed I want to comfort him as he tries to fall asleep” that is an intention. If I’m lucky he’ll fall asleep early. But typically he won’t. But having this intention as my focus instead of a deadline will give me the flexibility to focus on supporting him rather than holding us both to an unrealistic time frame.
I want to be more intentional in how I parent. Use this as a tool through the ups and downs. Instead of putting contraints on how things should go I’ll focus on how I want to be in those moments.
This is definitely something I can apply to other situations in my life. And I already feel some pressure release by shifting my focus.
