CEO MOM

I believe that mastering the art of running a home and family is the greatest training for leading any organization. That is why I love to read leadership books. While they may have been written for corporate America, they often have themes and principles that enhance the home's efficiency and effectiveness as well.
Currently I'm studying Leadership: Great Leaders, Great Teams, Great Results, by Stephen Covey.

I love the title because I see parents as being the "Leaders," the whole family as the "team," and the family culture as the "Results."
I want to share just one applicable idea that came out of this book. Covey talks about organizations being able to identify their "Wildly Important Goal(s)." Also known as "wigs," for short.
Isn't that a great way of saying, "But what's the MOST IMPORTANT goal we have?"
Last night as I lay in bed, mentally preparing for today, I started to feel the ever-common emergence of stress and anxiety about how much I "had" to get done by the end of the day. There were so many things to do - scrub the bathroom, laundry, teach the kids, respond to messages, prepare Sunday lesson, etc., etc., and then......I CAUGHT MYSELF.
I realized that I was bringing on the "pre-breakdown" syndrome. And I said, "HALT RIGHT THERE!"
Then, I referred back to the Covey book - "What is my WILDLY IMPORTANT GOAL?" Followed by the question, "What's the one thing I can do (or do first) that would make the biggest difference in the entire day?"
That thought process knocked out the anxiety and stress and suddenly put it all in perspective. It was easy to answer and simple to apply: Teach the kids first - meet their basic needs of their bodies, hearts, minds and spirits. I can clean the bathroom when Sai gets home from work.
Problem solved.
Smile.
Gratitude.
Good Night.
(I've said this before, and I'll say it again, when I get a chance to meet Stephen Covey in person, I'm gonna KISS his bald head!)