If nothing else, you’ve got to show up at race wearing sneakers, and you’ve got to show up at the parenting game with your mood on straight. Indeed, if your mood is on backward, that spells DOOM. Nobody has a great day every day, but if you are going to be responsible for another person (namely, your child), you really need to have good self-awareness.
If things are not going as well as you’d like at work or with your marriage, try (as much as possible) to “compartmentalize” and “put on a happy face” when you interact with and care for your children. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t seek help or that you should completely suppress your emotions. Of course not, but there’s a time and a place for everything.
There’s an old expression, “Bring the body, and the mind will follow.” This means that what you do can cause how you feel. If you act miserable, then you’ll feel miserable, but if you act happy, you very well may soon start to feel a bit happier. Ironically, the best thing about this is that your children will probably react positively to your good cheer, and maybe, just maybe that will be the beginning of an upward spiral.
