The Final Four begins this weekend and college basketball will crown this year’s national champion. It has been a terrific run for the final four teams remaining. All four have shown they are great teams, but only one will get that coveted championship trophy.
In fatherhood there are many great dads as well. Yet, every one of us can complete our championship run in fatherhood and become champions.
Dads helping one another
Throughout the NCAA Tournament I have shared many ways dads can become better dads with my “March DADness” series. I understand being a dad is no joke. The support and help of other dads is sometimes the only thing to keep you going. Today, I am sharing four more lessons great dads teach their kids.
Your kids will need your wisdom now…and especially later
At some point in your child’s life they will need to lean on your teaching. It may be while they are still living with you. I could be after they’ve gone to college or move away from home.
It might be when they have kids of their own and are beginning their championship run in fatherhood. Or it could be after you are no longer around. No matter when it happens, they need your wisdom. And it is your job to prepare them by sharing what you know.
Below are a few lessons I do my best at living out, and teaching my kids. A list of lessons for our kids is definitely not maxed out at four. However, great dads will definitely instill these in their kids.
Final 4 Lessons Great Dads Teach Their Kids
- Fail often, yet fail forward. Fear of failure is one the greatest deterrents to success. A child who fears failing may not do what is needed to succeed. Teach your children that failing is inevitable, and it is okay to do so. Each mistake they make is an opportunity to learn and get better. So they should do it often, so they can learn more often.
- Only you can stop you. One of my favorite scenes from the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” starring Will Smith is when he looks his son in the eye and says the following, “Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you got to protect it…You want something, go get it. Period.” Teach your children to never let anyone or anything stop them from pursuing their dreams.
- Do it, and do it well. My high school baseball coach’s mantra was “if we are going to do something, we might as well do it well, not just go through the motions.” My kids will hear me say it like this, “Do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, in the best way it can be done, and do it that way every single time.” Enough said. Teach your kids to give their all in everything they do.
- Live like that! It has been said that a man who stands for nothing will fall for anything. Our kids must have some type of moral stance in their life. Something they can measure their life and their choices against. For me and my household, it is the Word of God, the Bible. They should live like that, in a way that nobody can question who they stand for. One of my favorite Christian songs says it best, “I want to live like that…And give it all I have…So that everything I say and do…Points to You.“
Learning and growing together
If you are like me then you came into fatherhood not knowing much. But overtime you have grown, and learned how to be better. Other fathers, coaches, and tools have helped me. One great tool I am using now with my kids is from Mental Toughness Academy.
They have an amazing online training program for kids. It is called Mental Toughness Training, and it is a great tool to help your kids build confidence. In addition it will help them focus and better handle challenges in life, school, and sports. And you will grow right along with them.
It is a great way to spend time together, while teaching them the lessons great dads teach.
As a March DADness sponsor, Mental Toughness Academy is giving away one FREE training program. [Tweet this]
Click here to learn more about Mental Toughness Academy, and see below for the FREE Mental Toughness Training offer.
Enter to win a FREE Mental Toughness Training Program for your kids
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Question: What is the greatest lesson your dad taught you? Please share in the comment section below.