While thinking about what matters to me and what advice to give my children if it was the last thing I could tell them, I realized that there are 20 things I wish my children knew.
1. I wish they knew that though I constantly tell them to keep trying, there will be times when they will have to quit!
I hope they will learn the art of knowing when to hold on and when to quit and start something new.
2.I wish they knew that if you don’t step out of your comfort zone you will never realize how great you could be.
Sometimes my children will have to try something new and dare something that scares them in order to find their inner strength.
3. I wish they knew that happiness is a choice and not something that you search for like your car keys.
First they have to find what makes them happy and then they can go ahead and pursue their goals.
4. I wish they knew that you can’t wait for life to happen.
Life only happens when you know what you want and when you’re working hard to make it happen.
5. I wish they knew that if they make their own decisions they will get the credit when things go right and have no one for the blame when things go wrong.
If my children make their own decisions, they won’t live with regret wondering what could have been.
6. I wish they knew that investing in things trumps short-term enjoyment.
Sometimes they will have to put their temporary desires aside in order to achieve their long-term goals.
7. I wish they knew the importance of taking some time for yourself.
When you take care of yourself there will be more of you to share with others.
8. I wish they knew the question of intelligence should never be “how intelligent are you?” but “how are you intelligent?”
I hope they will remember to focus on their areas of brilliance and not to worry about the rest.
9. I wish they knew people who talk down to you are never worth looking up to.
Giving advice to children may work, but never criticism.
10. I wish they knew that dishonesty is thinking short-term while integrity has long term benefits.
In a long term it will pay out for them to achieve a reputation of trustworthy friends and colleages.
11. I wish they knew the secret to making friends and forming long term relationships is knowing that everyone wants to be appreciated and understood.
If you give love and understanding, you will receive love and understanding.
12. I wish they knew that most of the things you fear in life usually never happen.
Sometimes we are irrational and fear things that are very unlikely. Fear should never hold us back from going after what we really want.
13. I wish they knew that failure is underestimated and under-appreciated.
My best advice to children is: Don’t be afraid of messing up while you find out what you’re good at. In the words of Miss Frizzle of the TV show “Magic Schoolbus”: “Make mistakes, take chances, get messy!”
14. I wish they knew that there is pain in the world because of choices.
Bad choices are the plague of humanity but the ability to choose is the cornerstone of free will. This freedom is what allows us to reach places the human mind has never been to before.
15. I wish they knew how to live each day to the fullest, not caring if someone else thinks they’re crazy.
I hope in the end they have no regrets because they lived, they loved, they danced. They embraced every opportunity for change, every chance to make life as rich and full as it can be.
16. I wish they knew that even the good they do will be badly spoken of by someone.
I hope they never allow the opinion of someone who doesn’t matter to change their opinion of what matters.
17. I wish they knew what love can do.
Love doesn’t only feel good. It can change their whole world.
18. I wish they knew that God is that voice in your heart that tells you what’s right.
He’s the reassuring hunch that tells you in the end you’re going to be ok.
19. I wish they knew that the best investment I’ve ever made was in them.
I would never take back any sacrifice made for my children because I see that it has brought me rewards that can’t be compared to anything else.
20. I wish they knew that even when I yelled at them they were always loved unconditionally and the most precious thing in my life.
Because mothers love their kids unconditionally.
