Focus on…

As a dad (and as a parent) our focus is on multiple things at multiple times. With my two kids, they are full of energy all the time. They want to play, eat, watch tv, and help around the house all while I am prepping dinner. I can’t tell you how many times I have turned by back and one of them has the knife I was just using for chopping up vegetables.

A lot of times I am just focused on the task at hand. If I am making dinner I am just focused on making dinner and appeasing the kids as needed. When we are done with dinner, I am focused on cleaning up, and after that I am focused on the kids.

The key thing I keep telling myself is just focus on what I need to do now and get it done. If I keep jumping around from task to task or thing to thing without focusing on what I need to do in the moment tasks get missed and kids get neglected.

Similarly, when I work out, I focus on the workout I am doing at the moment. When I start with a run, I am focused on that run. I push all the way to the 10-minute mark. I run as hard as I can to get to that end. Then when I move to rowing I focus on that 10 minute of rowing. Let me tell ya, it is BORING at times. But in order to get to that end I fall in love with the process. That act of pushing with the legs, engaging the core, and pulling with arms/back, rest, repeat.

This is the same way I treat my kids. When I am focused on a task, the kids are not neglected rather, I try to find a way to help get them incorporated. When my littlest comes to help me with the dishwasher, he’ll hand me the utensils ONE. AT. A. TIME. from the dishwasher. It’s painful how slow it goes but I fall in love with the process. He is little. He is small. He is helping. He is impacting in a big way. I couldn’t ask for anything more from him. He is doing everything he can to be helpful.

So as you live day to day focus on what you need to do to get through the day. Take it a task or a step at a time. No need to rush through it but fall in love with the process and you’ll be immersed in it. By doing that, you won’t miss anything.