Recently I was talking with a parent (family of 3) describe his experience of raising up his children.
As a single young adult (me) still figuring out life, hearing a father demonstrate how he parents was eye-opening, and I wanted to learn more.
As we talked, he started to share one of the most important concepts that helped him in parenting — balancing the macro and micro — a concept I believe impacts not only the realm of children raising, but many other areas of life.
He shared to me how many mistakes can arise in parenting—yelling, expressing anger, disappointment, etc…
When these mistakes occurs, it’s easy to fret over the long-term impact these mistakes may have.
But the father mentioned making a mistake doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.
Rather than focusing on the micro result of a mistake, he recommends focusing on the macro picture of how the kids are raised, and work through the circumstance.
In other words, how does the family handle and deal with conflict and stress? Is there discussion after conflict arises? How are these teaching moments?
The way he mentioned it, if you’re able to get 90% right on the macro, and make only about 30% mistakes in the micro (give or take), things should be good enough for your family.
This was gamechanging to me, not only for parenting, but with life.
It helped me recognize the importance of setting a good direction, vision, and focus, and working through the details with that in mind.
Being able to apologize, be humble and work through mistakes and correct behavior so it doesn’t become bad habits can help set the course to success.
Many times we live trying to make an impact on others’ lives, and get obsessed with the details.
But sometimes, living with the macro, as well as the micro, in mind can make sure we bring impact no matter what we end up going through.
Questions to ponder: 🤔
- What are micro details you focus on? What are macro actions you are taking?