I have three children and sometimes they drive me crazy. Even though they make me angry and aggressive, they are still Gods precious gifts to me. And guess what, they are helping me a lot as a blogger!
We live in a busy world where we receive instant messages on our computers and phones, we drink instant coffee and run from appointment to appointment all day long. There isn’t much time left to relax and to meditate. And then, in addition to all your other stuff, you become a parent. Suddenly you realize how much spare time you really had earlier. You also grasp the fact that if you were busy before, life just got busier.
In a busy world, I believe that children are a great gift that will help us in many ways. Here I will try to list some of those areas and feel free to write down your own reasons in a comment to this blog post.
Children will force you to move your body
If you work in front of the computer it is easy to sit still and only make minor movements every day. You stand up whenever you want to go to the toilet or if you get hungry and want something to eat. Once your task is done you get back down in front of the computer to work some more.
Children do not enjoy sitting in one place. They are full of life and they will require you to stand up, move around, lie down on the floor, carry them around and for you to play hide and seek with them. These activities will not only make your children happy, but they will make the blood move faster throughout your body and it will have a good impact on your physical health.
Children will make you turn off your computer
90 percent of my work time is spent in front of a computer. I do my very best to protect my computer/laptop from my children as they super quickly discovered how fun it is to hit the keyboard, try to run away with the mouse, move the monitor and do everything in their power to make something funny take place at the screen. The kids love my computer, but unfortunately for them, they are not allowed to play with it. As a consequence, I quickly learned that it is impossible to work on a computer while watching out for your kids (at least when they are young). You can leave your computer on, but if a child discovers your computer turned on they will at once attracted to it and try to reach out for it. To avoid such trouble you will have to turn off your computer and hide it away. How can that be a gift?
When your computer is your workstation, you are kind of working throughout the entire day, as long as your computer is nearby. Forcing yourself to shut off your computer or moving it away will help you disconnect from your job, from your incoming emails and other work waiting for you whenever you take a look at your screen.
Children will inspire you as a blogger
I can not count how many times my children and their surroundings have inspired me for blogging. I remember writing an article on leadership lessons from the playground based on inspiration I got watching my children at the playground.
The time of the day that has given me most revelations and ideas is however when I put my children to bed. I have a habit of carrying my children around till they fall asleep (until they turn around 2 years). Depending on how tired they are this is an activity that can last everything from 1 minute to 30 minutes and during this period I have had some awesome moments.
During this period I normally pray and sing to God. But, this time is just as much a time of quietness and peace as it is about singing and praying.
Often I discover that I am not singing and not praying. Instead, my mind is bubbling over with titles and content for upcoming blog posts, ideas for how I can develop and improve whatever I work with and it has also become a time for meditating and thinking. How awesome is that? Spending 5-30 minutes sometimes several times a day praying, singing, thinking and meditating?
Do you now understand how my children have helped me a lot as a blogger?
Children will make you meet other people
If you are a person who enjoys staying at home, then your children will make you step out of your comfort zone frequently. Maybe you have to take your children to kindergarten every day, or pick them up after soccer practice? From time to time there will be meetings for parents that you have to attend and it can simply be said „Children will force you into becoming a more social person. So how will that help me as a blogger?
Blogging is not only about being active online. Real friends, real family, and real relationships can be a big strength for you as a blogger. True friends will like your posts and share them online and they will be there for you, even in the offline world.
Children will force us to grow in character
The last thing I would like to emphasize is how children will force us to grow in our character. Living all by ourselves and doing whatever we want whenever we want to is easy. Our children will not follow our schedules, but they will wake up 5 times a night and cry out for mum and dad. Even though they had a terrible night they will wake up early in the morning, and when they go to bed at night you will be so tired that you fall asleep yourself putting them to bed. This lack of sleep combined with action from morning till evening will make you tired and a tired person is easy to irritate. As a consequence our children will force us to grow in character. Our frustration should never be directed towards our kids, even though it can easily happen.
The result is that our children will help us grow in love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If you do not recognize these „fruits» then you might know them better as the Fruit of the Spirit, described by Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. You will need to grow in these character skills as you become a mum or a dad, but you can know for sure that they will help you develop you character, which again will turn you into a better blogger, a better parent, and a better spouse.
What do you think? Have your children helped you in your blogging career? Has anything special come to your mind as you read this article? I would love to hear your thoughts, both if you agree or disagree with whatever I have written in this article.
