Are You Taking These 3 Things for Granted?

I remember being frustrated almost every day. Our home met all of our needs, with the exception of one thing: I wanted a sectioned-off office. But the only available space in our house was the loft area where the kids also played. That irritated me. Ultimately, that’s because I was taking things for granted. Our house was one of them.

That is—until we had to move from that home because we couldn’t afford to live there. For the next several months, we had no home, which, of course, meant I had no office, and our kids had no room to play. We lived in a friend’s basement, in spare rooms at family’s houses, and in a couple of hotel rooms.

I made the mistake of taking things for granted when I should have been thankful. Sometimes, we do that as dads. Here are 3 things you probably take for granted and shouldn’t.

1. That You Are Actually a Father

I have friends who aren’t fathers but want to be. The challenges we face as dads can cloud our perspective. When we have newborns, we miss sleep and freedom. When our kids are teens, we miss little kid problems. When they are adults, we miss knowing what they are up to. At the end of the day, we are dads. It’s an amazing privilege to teach the basics of tying a shoe to the complexities of relationships. It’s a privilege that rewards you with a little person looking up to you like Superman and believing you are the very best.

2. That You Have the Ability to Influence Your Kids

Be intentional and proactive so you can have the most meaningful impact on your kids.

Let’s face it—our kids have a lot of influences, both good and bad, in peers, coaches, and mentors. However, you have the greatest ability to affect your kids’ lives. That’s a serious responsibility, but also a great one. Don’t take it lightly, and don’t be passive about it. Be intentional and proactive so you can have the most meaningful impact on your kids.

3. The Limited Time You Have with Your Kids

We only have 1,440 minutes each day and 480 of those are spent sleeping. Another 480 minutes are spent working. Then subtract commuting, homework, your lunch hour, and the time your kids need to get ready for bed. After those calculations, you have roughly only 90 minutes of distraction-free time with your children per day. We can’t waste it and we can’t procrastinate. Most of us are overloaded, so we have to spend our time on what matters most. I recently read a quote that said, “If you don’t have time for it today because you’re overloaded, what makes you think you can add the things from today’s overbooked schedule to tomorrow’s already overloaded schedule?” You can’t. Just choose one over the other. Tomorrow is not promised. It’s now time for your actions to reflect this when it comes to time with your kids.

Sound off: In what ways does taking things for granted make life more difficult?