Keeping Our Heads on Straight & Moving Forward
by Bob Doman
The war in the Ukraine keeps going on, China is making more noise about Taiwan, the kids aren’t cooperating, and how much did you pay for gas today? Looking back over the decades, it would appear that we need to accept the fact that the world is going to keep throwing challenges our way, and we need to do what we can to deal with the realities and advance in spite of them. Don’t wait for things to get better, do what you can to make your life and that of your family better—now.
As most of you know, there are some things I keep coming back to; and generally at the top of the list are family and being smart. One of the things that good times have in common with the difficult times is that the stronger our family, the better we can get through the tough times and the more we can enjoy the good times. Keep family as the priority, invest in it. The second thing on my list has a direct impact on the first—being smart. Most of us have no idea how smart we can be, or how much easier most things are the smarter we are.
Virtually every NACD family knows about processing, which equals short term memory, working memory and executive function, essentially the pieces that permit us to learn, think, and function well. They are the pieces that determine how smart we are now.
The smarter we make our kids, the better they function; and the smarter we are as adults, the better we function at every time and stage of our lives. Not a great mystery!
As you proceed to work with your kids, reserve the big rewards for advancement in processing and do your best to make it FUN! It’s the atmosphere and attitude that can make things fun for children. You can make most anything fun if it’s your goal. Mom and Dad can make sure that the kids do their processing activities, but where is your mommy to make you work on yours? She probably isn’t going to be there, so you need to step up and assume the responsibility for it and accept the challenge.
I recently have started using a personal trainer—heck, I’m only 74, there is still time to improve. I’ve made that commitment to myself to preserve and improve the quality of my life. It’s easy as adults to see ourselves as being “fait accompli” a done deal, if you will, but that does not need to be our reality. Please, Mom and Dad, make a commitment to keep working to make yourselves better, to continue to grow, not just for your own sake, but that of your family. The better you function, the better job you can do with your children. Tools can help, and if you haven’t explored Simply Smarter then do—get smarter! It helps! Be one of those who can succeed even in the face of adversity.
You may not be able to help the world, but you can help yours.
Reprinted by permission of The NACD Foundation, Volume 35 No.4, 2022 ©NACD
