My mission is to help fathers be more intentional and impactful in their role. I am a father of 5 (husband of 1) and I live in Grand Rapids, MI. Check out the resources I offer below and sign up for my newsletter!
adversity
Happy Tuesday from Michigan,
When we had our first child, he was a terrible sleeper. I mean terrible. He would scream for hours at bedtime, regularly. I remember pacing around our apartment with him in my arms thinking I was going to lose my mind.
I had no idea how to calm him down or what to do. People would give all sorts of advice and tell me to try random things but nothing seemed to work. He just screamed. Every night. For weeks.
Those were some adverse conditions.
I had to figure out how I was going to cope thrive in the midst of the adversity that had just slapped me in the face.
Looking back now, I can see how going through that required me to grow as a person, as a father and as a husband. Walking through that made me the man I am today.
Maybe you had a similar path.
The times when I have faced the most adversity have been the times that I have grown the most.
Whether it be Ironman training, business challenges, or a growing family, the times when things got hard, I grew.
I am thankful for the hard times, because without them I would still be an immature/soft version of myself. Which is a powerful perspective shift on adversity.
Adversity is a fire that refines you, not something to be avoided entirely. In fact, I have been thinking about how I can more regularly seek it out and how I am going to do so for my children.
One step has been to start modeling it for my children on a regular basis. Show them that comfort is not the ultimate goal. Do hard things and push myself and bring them along for the ride.
Another is introduce some adversity for them to overcome and coach them through it. Weather is be a new skill for them to learn or signing up for a sport they have never played.
This is a lifetime aim, both for me and for my kids. And the only way that I know how to do it is by taking one step at a time.
If you’re looking to challenge yourself, you can join the New Year challenge that I am doing with a small cohort of dads starting in January. Hit reply to this email and let me know you’re interested, and I will send you the details when they are ready.
🎙️ Podcast Episodes
Chris Boettcher - 10X Ironman and Physical Therapist.
Joe Colangelo - Founder of Boxcar, father of 5.
👀 Read/Watch List
The Intentional Father - Book on helping your sons on writes of passage as they go from boyhood to manhood.
TraumaZone - Documentary by Adam Curtis on Russia 1985-1999
In the arena with you,
~Mike
PS - If you know a dad that could benefit from this email or the podcast, forward it to them.
Hi! I'm Mike
My mission is to help fathers be more intentional and impactful in their role. I am a father of 5 (husband of 1) and I live in Grand Rapids, MI. Check out the resources I offer below and sign up for my newsletter!
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