Finding the Inspiration and Motivation to be a Good Parent

If you are a parent, or are about to become one, or seriously plan to be one, then it is of the utmost importance that you find the right inspiration and motivation to be excellent at this task. To be a good parent pretty much means to be a good person to your offspringâ€"except with a little bit more discipline, of course! Here are some sources that can help push you to succeed:

1. Your own childhood
The easiest way, bar none, to find the right inspiration and motivation to be a good parent is to look into your own experiences as a child. No one parent is absolutely perfect, but they each have their shining moments, too. So, what were the flaws and advantages that you saw in your own parents as you were growing up? Were they far too strict or much too lenient? Did they do their best to make sure you loved to learn? Were they a shoulder to cry on, or were they far too cold to approach? Gauge the kind of parent you want to be by using your own parents as a template.

2. Your favorite teachers
Teachers have long been sources of inspiration and motivation for a variety of reasons, and if you want to be a good parent, they are very much an excellent source. This is because teachers want you to learn, and this is something every great parent should want for their own children. Try to remember your favorite teacher. Odds are that you loved this person because they opened your mind up to a fascinating world that was right under your nose. Wouldn’t you want your child to have the same sense of awe and wonder?

3. Your friends
Your friends are your friends for a good reason: they have the kind of personality traits that you truly appreciate in a person. Wouldn’t you want your own children to be as great as your friends are? So, find the inspiration and motivation to succeed as a parent by spending even more time with the friends you love the most. See which of their characteristics would best help you to be a good parent. Is it their sense of humor? Unwavering patience? Surprising selflessness? Whatever the reason may be, what matters is that it inspires and motivates you to be the kind of person your kids would want to hang out with.

4. Your favorite boss or co-worker
Work can be a drag, but if we have the right kind of boss or co-worker to work with, we can at least get a decent reprieve from all the stress. So, if you do have a boss who you both admire and feel comfortable with, or a co-worker with whom you can be both productive and relaxed at the same time, you should use them as part of your inspiration and motivation to be a good parent. You need to hold a degree of authority over your children, but at the same time, you also want them to both trust you and be at ease with you. Only a good boss or co-worker can really strike that balance, so think long and hard about which person in your office best fits that description!

5. A politician you actually like
Yes, this sounds hilarious at the onset, but admit it: despite the many, many politicians you likely despise, there is at least one person who seems to be someone you could actually support. There’s that one person who seems to be sincere with their desire to improve the current state of things, who seems to be unfazed by threats from other politicians, who simply wants to do what is right and just and shuns all things selfish. This is a person with whom you can definitely find true inspiration and motivation. Taking on a “good politician” attitude will help you to be a good parent, and in that you will always want what is just and fair for all involved.

If you want to be an excellent parent to your children, you have to have the inspiration and motivation to succeed in your task. You can’t just take the act of parenting for granted, not especially in this day and age, when there are so many distractions that can keep you and your little ones truly bonded for life. Do your best to use the above five sources wisely, and try to find more on your own!