I had an interesting conversation over dinner with my friend Edgar. Somehow the discussion rolled around to talking about our jobs and good days and bad days. Edgar said that he always has a good day. The weather, co-workers behavior, his boss, whatever…none of these determined if his day would turn out bad or good. I just loved it when he said this.
Since I was a teen, I learned not to allow external factors to influence my attitude. My days are good because I decide that they will be good. I choose to count my blessings and make consistent decisions that will contribute to my happiness.
I tried to impart this attitude to my own kids as they were growing up. Choosing to focus on what is going well rather than what is not makes a huge difference in a child’s or an adult’s sense of contentment and the degree to which an adult or a child will expreience depression.
Depression in Children
I’m no expert on depression in children or adults. I do know that environment, nutrition, and stress all factor heavily into our mental health. Comprehensive commentary on such is beyond the scope of this article. However, an old hymn I learned in church said “Count your blessings. Name them one by one…:”
The habit of counting my blessings has helped me to experience far more good days in life than bad days. This habit can help minimize depression in children as well as adults. When our kids see us choose to be thankful and focus on the good, then they will more easily adopt that additude for their own lives. It doesn’t mean that we ignore negative things in life. We just choose not to allow negative influences to dictate our mood or attitude. Listing all of the good things going on in your life is a recipe for lifting your mood.
As a parent, I hope that you choose to lead by example. Our attitude and actions have far more impact on what our kids learn from us than what we say. Choose to have good days… every day.
For a more clinical discusson on depression in children, take a look at this article by the good folks over at KidsHealth.
One of the decisions I make daily is to provide the best quality service that I can to my customers. This includes delivering an awesome magic show to my audiences. When I give my best, I’m happy, AND my customers are happy. As I think about it, I’d venture a guess that if you….yeah YOU with your hands on the keyboard….were to witness one of my magic shows, it would help you and yours to have a fantastic day. Contact me here.
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