I recently read a quote by Albert Einstein that I very much agree with: “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.” This is because being consistent and coherent with the principles we transmit to our children through words is fundamental for them to make an impact.
The example we set for them with our conduct, our behavior, our attitudes, our vital tone, our pessimism or optimism, our way of seeing and being in life, etc. has much more influence on them than the advice we can verbalize.
There's no point in telling our child that they should be honest if they see us lie frequently; there's no point in telling them they should be active and strive to achieve their goals if they see us sitting on the sofa all day; there's no point in telling them they should think of others if they never see us care about anyone else; there's no point in telling them to be optimistic if we spend all day complaining about everything; there's no point in telling them to be respectful of the environment if we ourselves are not...
That's why I always say that children help bring out the best version of ourselves, because one tends to want to grow and be better every day so that they can be too.
Following all this and now that we are in such turbulent times, where corruption and the lack of honesty, ethics, and morality in our society are the order of the day, a rather illustrative story comes to my mind that I read a few days ago in a post by Ángel María Herrera, co-founder of Bubok:
A father and his son were queuing to enter the theater. When it was their turn, the father asked the lady at the ticket booth what age children had to be to pay. The lady replied that it was from 8 years old. The father, without a moment's hesitation, replied: "Then give me two tickets, my son turned 8 yesterday." The lady handed him the tickets, but before he left, she said: "I was very surprised that you told me your son is 8 years old; if you had told me he was 7, I wouldn't have noticed." The father replied: "You wouldn't have noticed, but my son would have."
If we want to change the things we don't like, there is no better way to do it than through education. Our children are the future, the generation of tomorrow. The legacy we want to leave them depends on us.
What do you think about all this? Do you agree?
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