I gave a disclaimer to my wife the other day. I told her over the next few weeks I’ll be sitting on the couch watching a lot of TV. The reason? It’s one of my favorite times of the year, March Madness. The NCAA College Basketball National Tournament officially kicks off tomorrow. It is a crazy, fun time of year for both avid basketball fans, and those who only watch during the tournament.

When all is said and done, there will be one winner. One team will have overcome all obstacles and become a national champion. Each team puts in work all year long to reach this point of the season. One of the reasons my wife is okay with me watching so much TV during this time, is because much like the teams in the tournament I’ve put in the work prior to now in trying to be the best dad and husband  I can be.

I’ve been working day in and day out to help me get the victory in fatherhood. I’ve learned a lot during this journey, I’ve studied other dads who are winning in fatherhood, and I’ve noticed a few things. I believe there are three things that dads can do that will set them on the path to get the victory in fatherhood.

Making a championship run in fatherhood

I talk about these three things in my eBook, March DADness: Preparing Dads to Make a Championship Run in Fatherhood. Unlike the players in the NCAA tournament you don’t have to be six-feet tall, have a nasty crossover, or be able to jump out of the gym. You just have to be willing and you have to be intentional.

[callout]Each year, our family completes an NCAA Tournament bracket. This year we decided to invite other families to join us in a friendly “family vs. family” challenge. If interested click here for more info.[/callout]

Here are three ways you can get the victory in fatherhood.

Give to your kids

It is natural to give material gifts to our children. But as dads, we have to give more than things. We must give our time, give them good examples to follow, give them support, and most importantly give them love. There are many ways we can give to our children. Intentionally doing so will put us in a position to win as a dad.

Encourage your kids

Our voices and our actions hold so much weight with our kids. The small things to us are big things to them. An encouraging word, a pat on the back, a nod of approval will shoot your kids’ self-esteem through the roof. One of the biggest challenges your kids may face is whether they feel good about themselves or not. When we encourage them we help them to have a healthy self-esteem. Doing so is how you win in fatherhood.

Teach your kids

We are all teaching our kids. Sometimes we are unaware as we don’t always teach intentionally. We teach our kids not only when we sit down to help them with schoolwork, or when we have a “deep” conversation with them, but also by the way we handle ourselves every single day. My friend, Eric Dingler, likes to say “more is caught than what is caught.” If that is true we need to make sure what is caught will be beneficial to them. To do so we have to be intentional in teaching them consistently.

Time to G.E.T. your fatherhood victory

When we make a habit of the three things mentioned above we are in a position to G.E.T. the victory in fatherhood. When we don’t make them a habit our victory may depend on how the “ball bounces.”

I know the teams competing for the national championship don’t want to leave it up to chance or how the ball bounces, and fatherhood is way more important than a basketball national championship. So, I encourage you to be intentional in your fatherhood, so you can win in fatherhood.

[reminder]What is your go-to move to help you win in fatherhood?[/reminder]