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| My son attended a kids' martial arts summer camp this past week. |
One of a parent's greatest joys is to hear another parent, teacher, or coach sincerely praise one's kid or kids.
I was blessed today with a bountiful barrage of this kind of parental joy. More importantly, I was blessed with a tangible affirmation that the Self-Action Leadership (SAL) training that my wife and I are providing to our children is taking root and bearing fruit.
The praise spoken of was gifted this afternoon when I picked my son, Tucker, up from his last day of a week-long Martial Arts Camp. Throughout the week, I have usually just pulled up to the outside of the studio where I would wait for Tucker to come out to the car. But knowing today was the last day, I wanted to take the opportunity to THANK the coaches for the great week-long camp they put on for Tucker and his peers. I also wanted to make sure Tucker said THANKS to his coaches himself.
As I did so, the head coach spontaneously launched into an effusive shower of praise about Tucker.
I was not entirely surprised by this because the Coach had already texted me earlier in the week to say that Tucker's behavior was excellent and he was a joy to have in class. However, the extent, specificity, and sincerity of his praise caused me to be taken aback a bit—in the most positive and rewarding of ways.
Far from merely complimenting Tuck with some token cliche or platitude of praise, the coach was extensive and specific in his commendation. He said Tucker's behavior was outstanding, that he was very inclusive of all the other kids in the class, and that he wished he had 20 more Tucker's in his classes. He went on to say that half of the kids in his classes are difficult to deal with, but that Tucker is the cream of the crop of the good half of the kids.
He went on to say (twice) very specifically to me: "Whatever you are doing, Dad, keep it up... keep doing what you are doing because it works!"
Before I go on, I wish to emphasize here that I have no intention of ever posturing myself as being a perfect parent, because I simply am not! To wit: I give my kids too much sugar, let them have more screen time than I probably should, and am not always as attentive or engaged as I could be. In other words, I still have a long way to go to measure up to the ideal television dad; namely, Bluey Heeler's father, Bandit.
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| Click HERE to buy this BOOK |
So... what exactly do Lina and I do to teach, model, and instil SAL in our children?
It's pretty simple, really—although it does take a measure of discipline, focus, and follow-through to consistently employ.
First, we sincerely strive to MODEL SAL principles and practices in our own speech and behavior. And we aren't perfect at it. For example, I'm sure my kids would be happy to spill the beans that I sometimes let a bad word-or-two slip out of my mouth, lose my temper, or exhibit a bad attitude. However, I am also pretty good at apologizing and striving to improve upon these weaknesses. And for the most part, I do practice what I preach, and that includes regular repentance when I fall short!
Second, we regularly TEACH SAL principles to our kids. We do this first and foremost in a spontaneous manner as we go throughout our days, weeks, months, and years of our lives. The best time to teach life and character lessons is in the midst of life itself. In other words, when an unschedule chance for teaching arises—and such opportunities occur all the time—take advantage of them! Whether the subject-at-hand involves honesty, compassion, inclusion, discipline, focus, persistence, creativity, patience, forgiveness, cooperation, love, et cetera, don't let these precious life moments slip by without fortifying your kids' character both implicitly (through your example) and explicitly (by the precepts you teach).
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| Our Family's collection of Value Tales |
Now, don't get the wrong idea here... I'm not suggesting we teach the Bible in schools (history, theology, and divinity courses excluded). I'm merely sharing ONE resource that my wife and I use at home. There are many wonderful books that can be used for the purpose of character education; the scriptures just happen to be prominent examples.
POWER TALES and VALUE TALES are two sets of illustrated, juvenile character education programs that I use with my kids. These volumes are culturally dated (published in the early 1980s) and are hard to come by these days, but with the Internet at your fingertips, it won't be hard to find other, similar resources to your liking.
Click HERE to read a past article about listening to POWER TALES' audiocassettes with my kids.
At this point in my life—I am now 43 years old—I am crystal clear on my life's values and priorities. Simply put, I exist for three primary purposes. The first is the learn and practice SAL myself. The second is to model and teach SAL principles to others. And the third is to experience as much happiness, joy, satisfaction, fulfillment, and inner peace as I possibly can as a result of this consummate commitment to SAL.
I hope that one day homes and schools all over the world will utilize the SAL Textbooks for the benefit and blessings of their children and students. To date, no one is very interested in doing so; but I know that will change when the time is right. And in the meantime, I will continue to eat, sleep, breath, and be the SAL guy for the benefit of myself and my fellow humans all over the world.
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 334th Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 155th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 333 FF Blog Articles
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS
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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.
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