How Do You Define Success?

How Do You Define Success?

Recently I was reading a book about a little league baseball pitcher, and his dream of becoming a major league pitcher. The story follows this little leaguer, whose father is obsessed, and consumed with his son reaching the top.

Alex wants to reach his dreams, but also would like to just enjoy being a teen and hanging out with his friends sometime.

Where is the balance of helping our child in reaching their goals and dreams, without causing damage to our relationship? As parents we have to keep in mind that it is essential that our children know when they do their best that we are proud of them, because that’s all any of us as parents can ask and expect.

There is so much pressure now, for our youth to get in the top schools or to be the best athlete, most popular and more. Pressure can be beneficial or detrimental depending upon how it’s used and how much it’s used. One of the most important aspects of success is balance. I think often times parents’ including myself sometimes get so caught up with helping our children excel in sports that we become more of a coach than a parent. We must remember that we are first and foremost a parent. We were parents before they were athletes and we’ll be parents after they’re done being athletes. It would be a travesty for our children to view us as the greatest coach, but the worse parent. Our number one job is to raise great people, not great athletes. I would rather raise a great son and a poor athlete than raise a great athlete and a poor son. Turn on the news today and you’ll see multiple athletes’ getting in trouble for exhibiting poor behavior. It starts in the household with parents’ building meaningful relationships with their children.
As parents we must remember to tell our children that our love for them is unconditional and that will help them achieve balance between life and sports. Remember, we don’t get what we desire; we get what we focus on. Therefore, our children will emphasize whatever they feel like we focus on most.

Where Do We Draw The Line, and How Do You Define Success?