A few days ago I sat all 4 of my boys down one night before bed and talked to them a little about discipline.
I took out a blank sheet of paper and on the left side, drew a frownie face – and on the right side drew a happy face.
I asked them – “What does it take during the course of a day – to move from frownie to smiley?
They had some great answers, one of which was, doing things you could be proud of.
That of course, led us into a discussion on discipline and how small choices can add up to big results in our lives over time.
“What’s one area you guys could develop a new discipline in?” I asked.
With a bit of guidance, the topic turned to keep rooms clean including getting the beds made on a daily basis.
I won’t lie – this has been a big struggle in our family over the years.
In our company, we have a goal planning & habit tracking document.
I printed 1 out for each of my 4 boys and helped them to write down their goal, their reasons why, and their new empowering habit.
(This sheet includes check boxes you can use to track your habit – like Darren Hardy suggests in The Compound Effect)
Off they went.
The first couple days went surprisingly well but yesterday, a bit of a snafu with my oldest son Kayden.
He was having a bit of a grumpy spell and when I asked him about his progress on his goal he said: “I don’t care – I don’t want to do that anymore.”
I told him – “Well, that’s up to you but you are the one who will miss out on the benefit of not moving forward.”
In kid terms – I tried my best to explain Jim Rohn’s quote “The greatest value in life is not what you get, the greatest value in life is what you become.”
Then I left him and headed off to bed.
Corene and I had just settled in to watch a show when we heard a knock on our bedroom door.
“Dad, can I talk to you?” came Kayden’s voice through the door.
I get up – walk out and say ‘what’s up buddy?’
“Please don’t be mad but – I didn’t want to miss a day of having you sign my goal tracking sheet. I made my bed and cleaned my room. Can you please come check it and sign off on today?”
🙂
This kid had gotten out of bed at 10 PM – picked up his room and made his bed – so he could stay on track with his new discipline.
I checked his work, signed my initials on his sheet, gave him a big hug and said…
“I’m proud of you son.”
Your kids have such amazing character and I am sure it is becaus of these awesome principles you’re teaching them. Great Post
Thanks Robin… We’re all works in progress – so fun to be working on this stuff together as a family and with you too in our business family!
You are such a great dad and a wonderful role model for your children. What a great example to all of us on discipline and achievement! I love this and would love to have that checklist! I loved this post. !hank you!
Thanks Sarah – a work in progress but I guess that’s what makes special moments like these so fun and exciting! You can grab that checklist and worksheet in your back office under “The Bridge to Your Dreams.” it’s a resource under the training module.
OMGOSH I’m learning that i need to get the freaking cleanex out every time i read a story about you and your boys, Paul.. thanks so much..
I really need to do that about my bedroom too..LOL only I have no one to sign off my sheet.. but thats what makes it a challenge.. accountability to my self.
You are a great dad, Paul… I tell you that all the time.. your boys are gonna grow up with less issues than most of the people in their generation…make sure you let them know about the haters that cant stand that good stuff… I was one of those goodie-goods too, but i didn’t have a dad like you.. that would have been awesome!!!! Blessings and wholeness to you and your household…
ijust realized my name is backward.. LOL
ha ha.. I just noticed that too! 🙂
ahhhh thanks Lona Reshel! If I can make you cry I call that SUCCESS! ha ha … Jk… 🙂
I can’t take the credit…. like Bob Proctor says “I have licence to brag because none of this stuff is mine.” 🙂 So grateful for all the mentors, books and people like you who inspire me to keep moving forward every day – and even thought I’m not a perfect dad & make plenty of mistakes – each day is a new day to begin again !
That’s such an amazing story! I love how impressionable kids are. A good friend of mine once said, “kids are like a blank chalk board, and we get to hold the chalk and the eraser.” I just want to acknowledge you for doing an amazing job with the chalk and the eraser in your kids lives.
I love that metaphor! Thanks for sharing that and for the kind words Joseph – I have so much room for improvement in that department but definitely working on it… Grateful you only get to see my highlight reel. 🙂