How are you doing so far?

Over the last couple of months, I've posted about a number of topics.  Most recently, I have urged readers to join me on my quest to be a better, happier and more insightful parent.  I thought today I would recap some of the steps and topics we have discussed thus far putting them in a logical order:

• Determine your parenting style.  Before we can make any kind of change, we must first be in tune with our own strengths, weaknesses and personal preferences.  This post gives a general overview of the different parenting styles.  More in depth discussion is available in other posts if desired.  This post also contains a link for a parenting style inventory.  Remember, we cannot change what we do not acknowledge.
• Determine your child's temperament.  Having determined our parenting style, it is helpful to consider our child's temperament.  This post gives an overview of the nine traits involved in determining a child's temperament.  Knowing this along with our parenting style can help explain some of those "clashes" we have with our kids.
• Reflect.  Having looked at parenting style and temperament, it is now a good time to reflect.  Knowing where you are now will help clarify where you want to be in the future.
• Figure out your priorities.  Pretty self-explanatory.  Determining your priorities will be the base from which you goals and actions are developed (more on this in a later post).
• Determine your energy drainers.  It is hard to get things done and to make change without figuring out our roadblocks.  This post discusses some of the things we do that interfere with our achieving our goals.
• Recognize your thinking patterns.  This is a very important step in the process.  We often know that we are doing things that are ineffective or unhealthy, but we do them anyhow!  Learning how your thinking supports your actions is necessary to promote change.

There is a lot more to do!  As I said in an earlier post, it is often helpful to journal while going through this process.  For some, this might be done via a personal blog or journaling website.  For others, it may be a traditional journal or notepad.  Whatever your preference, writing can be very therepeutic and is one of the most likely contributors to successful change.  So get writing!!!

Let me know if you have any questions so far.  Until next time!