Living through positive actions

I was listening to the Spartan Up podcast yesterday while I was out trail running. The guest on the podcast was Justin Batt and he was talking about a book he wrote called Daddy Saturday's. The book is about how fathers and mothers as well who live extremely busy lives can make time to stay connected to their kids in a positive way. It wasn't about showering their kids with praise and lavish adventures. It was about reconnecting to the basic principles of being a good parent that teaches and guides their children as well as holding them accountable and not trying to always fix everything for their children. One of the takeaways that I loved about this interview was "Move is caught than taught.''

This concept made me think about not just my responsibilities as a parent, but also my responsibilities as a human being. We all share this space called life. We interact with each other everyday. Our moods, our behaviors, our actions, what we say to each other has a direct effect on everything around us. This concept goes directly to the heart of "Actions Speak Louder Than Words". When we try to always try to talk our way through a problem or issue or more importantly a teaching moment, a large majority of what we say is either lost in translation or just blocked out. Our actions however usually can have the greatest impact, especially if we stay consistent with our actions. Our actions are what is caught more often than taught. When we choose to live through positive actions instead of just positive words, the chances of your actions having an impact on someone's life is so much greater. 

I believe it is our responsibility as human beings living amongst each other to try as much as possible to live by this concept. It's too easy to look the other way or ignore all together the child or the person sitting next to you who really needs a caught instead of a taught. Yes, living life with this concept in mind is difficult. It requires compassion towards others. It requires leaving you ego at the door. It requires letting go of your prejudices that have been built up over time. It requires reaching across the aisle sometimes to give the helping hand needed to get something positive done. Most of all it requires selflessness and unconditional love.