Don’t Give Up—How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores

7 March 20204 March 2020 patmcgLeave a comment

I have to admit, I’ve been slacking on giving my kids chores. It’s just basics – mostly cleaning up after themselves, emphasizing individual responsibility.

Without responsibilities, how will our kids grow up?

But this great article from Let Grow has me thinking about chores — reframed as “responsibilities” — as part of helping the family and growing your kid’s sense of community and self-confidence.

👉 Don’t Give Up—How to Get Your Kids to Do Chores

This article explains the benefits to your kids having ~~chores~~ responsibilities to do around the house. It also has practical tips for making these responsibilities work for everyone.

I’ve never been so inspired about chores! 😀

You

The Artist’s Hierarchy of Needs

5 March 202022 March 2020 patmcg2 Comments

I’ve been taking on some creative projects lately (music and writing) and found this idea of an artist’s needs really helpful. I makes me want to create!

👉 The Artist’s Hierarchy of Needs

(I’m not sure this is technically a “hierarchy”, but still it’s a good list.)

Cheat sheet: creative physical space, creative imaginative space, creative peers / community, creative fuel (filling the well), being active / taking care of your body, creative edge / challenge, faith and belief in yourself and your work, having your work responded to, certainty (confidence?), and time.

Here’s just one of the ten artist’s needs that I really liked: The need for your creative edge:

Solving problems, pushing boundaries, developing something new is at the heart of the creative process. Rather than despair about how difficult it is, embrace the challenge of your craft.

Parenting · You

Let’s Stop Telling Our Kids to Be Careful All the Time

4 March 20205 March 2020 patmcg1 Comment

I love this post from Let Grow. It’s calling out how pointless and even damaging it is to just say “Be careful!” to your kids all the time. It’s a really interesting read.

👉 Let’s Stop Telling Our Kids to Be Careful All the Time

Of course we all want our kids to be safe. But the point here is that we should teach them specifically how to identify and deal with risk instead of a hand waving “Be careful!”, which only indices fear and is mainly meant to make the parents feel better.

As parents, we should be guiding our kids through risk. Our job is to make them strong, independent, smart people. That means helping our kids recognize, evaluate, and manage different kinds of risk. 💪🏻 How about empowering them by asking them, “What’s your exit strategy?” instead of vaguely scaring them with “Be careful!”.

Using phrases that empower our confident kids to manage risk on their own not only gives them important information about their environment, but it also teaches them that they’re capable of doing it.

They even have a poster of things to say instead of “Be careful!”.

You

Discomfort is Your Best Friend

17 February 202017 February 2020 patmcgLeave a comment

I really love the message in this article. It sounds severe, but discomfort is actually your best friend in life.

👉 You Will Not Grow Until You Learn to Tolerate Discomfort

I have found this to be more and more true the older I get, to the point where if things are very easy or comfortable for too long, it sort of terrifies me. It is the first sign of your downfall. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Embracing discomfort and seeing it as your friend allows you to shed fear and enjoy the feeling of progress. It lets you learn to play guitar or programming, it lets you take a chance with someone, it lets you find new ways to be happy and fit, it lets you be shed stale thinking.

When we are in pain, discomfort heightens and communicates. When we are making progress, discomfort peaks and recedes, and clarity washes over us.

PS I told my kid the other day that discomfort grows you, before I even read this article. She said that sounded like something I would read. 😂

You

Five Tips to Be Memorable in Social Settings (and Still Be Yourself)

16 February 202016 February 2020 patmcg1 Comment

This is a great article for those of us who may be on the understated side and/or not a big fan of small talk.

👉 How to Be Memorable in Social Settings – Five tips to stand out in a positive way

These tips are great because:

They’re genuine and let you be yourself. In fact, they kind of help you be more you.
They make socializing more fun and interesting for you, not just others.
They are simple and practical.
They even work towards some of an introvert’s strengths, i.e. reading books.

Cheat sheet:

Have interesting answers ready for common questions (where are you from, etc.)
Dress for success, i.e. find your style
Remember people’s names (damn this is hard!)
Give people your undivided attention (easy)
Read so you have stuff to talk about