How Becoming a Parent Has Made Me a Better and Stronger Person
I've learned more in the past few months than from years of personal growth reading and podcasts
Thanks for opening and reading my content! If you haven’t subscribed and enjoy my work, please sign up at the end or share on social media to help me grow.
It’s important to take some precious and quiet moments with your newborn to reflect on how much they have changed you since their arrival. Both you and your newborn are experiencing massive changes in this stage of life if you are a first-time parent. You need to take the time to reflect on and be proud of the positive ways you’ve changed after one of the biggest changes to possibly happen in your life. There’s a good chance you have pushed yourself further in ways you never thought possible.
The first and maybe the biggest realization is what I can accomplish on levels of sleep I never considered acceptable until my daughter was born. You probably won’t get more than three hours of consecutive sleep for a couple of months after birth. That thought had me pretty scared about how I would function at work. It wasn’t easy, but having co-workers who understand how difficult it was helped and I still performed at a high level on much less sleep.
My daughter got me more motivated to perform better at work and to be serious about my writing. I’ve never desired corporate world status because I’d be happier making a lot of money from writing or owning some kind of small business rather than dealing with workplace politics. I’d rather spend my days building my own dream business when it comes to working. Now I treat working in Corporate America as a way to improve my business/interpersonal skills so I can be self-employed someday.
Fitness has never been more important and challenging. I’ve given up expectations of breaking personal records. The most important thing is just getting that workout in for a mental break and to maintain a healthy baseline. It’s hard to work out on days when you are exhausted, but always try to go and see what you can do. It’s usually a mental hurdle to overcome and I end up having a decent workout and feel better and proud I went after. Being in shape makes you a better parent.
Fatherhood has helped increase my patience and to keep calm in situations I would've had trouble in before. There’s no way I would have had the patience to handle an upset baby in the grocery store a few months ago. I never understood what it was like to have a newborn so my empathy for people with a screaming kid on an airplane didn’t exist. Everything about caring for a new baby requires patience and translates to other aspects of life.
Your capacity increases beyond what you could have imagined before and you become a better person by trying to be a good parent. You get forced to do more hard things and what you thought was difficult before changes and seems easier. It forces your marriage or relationship with your partner to get stronger when you want to be good parents. More responsibility helps you become a better person, and there’s no bigger one than being a parent.
Love this. I understand exactly what you mean. It's an incredible experience that pushes you to your limits. I will never take sleep for granted again. So proud of you! Keep up the great content.