Why Are Parents So Unhappy? And Who Would Settle for Happiness, Anyway?

Good Morning All!! This is, in fact, Jill . . . . This article gripped me and gave me tremendous insight to what I have observed going on in families for years. As parents, we are called to shape our children in God's image, helping them to be productive and well gripped citizens, who understand their purpose in life and give value to others around them daily. I have posted bits and pieces of the Albert Mohler's website article below. To read it in it's entirety, which I hope you do, go to http://www.albertmohler.com/2010/07/08/why-are-parents-so-unhappy-and-who-would-settle-for-happiness-anyway/. Enjoy the following:

"Why Are Parents So Unhappy? And Who Would Settle for Happiness, Anyway?
Christians must see children as gifts from God, not as projects, understanding family life as a crucible for holiness, not an experiment in happiness."

For those interested in the fate of our culture, New York Magazine is an indispensable barometer. This single magazine, perhaps more than any other periodical, offers feature articles that catch the cultural conversation. Granted, that cultural conversation is largely Manhattan-centric and geared to the highly educated and economically secure classes. But, since those are the very people who tend to direct the cultural conversation, what interests them will almost surely soon interest the rest of the nation.

This week, the issue is children and happiness. Not the happiness of children, but the debate over whether having children makes for parental happiness. Looking first to the sociological and psychological data, the picture looks bleak. According to the current scholarly consensus, parents are more likely to be depressed than non-parents, and parents report themselves as less happy as well.

In her article, “All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting,” writer Jennifer Senior wonders aloud why parents seem to be less happy than non-parents, but simultaneously claim that parenthood is such a great thing. What is the disconnect?

Here is a summary: The “scholarly consensus” is that children and parental happiness just do not go together. According to the data, parents are less happy than non-parents, parents of infants and toddlers are especially not happy, single parents are less happy than married parents, and mothers are less happy than fathers. Except, that is, when it comes to single fathers, who are the most unhappy of all.

In the most important section of her article, Jennifer Senior tellingly suggests that what might have changed is the way we view children and parenthood. In her words, “the possibility that parents don’t much enjoy parenting because the experience of raising children has fundamentally changed.” This is where her article becomes especially important.

She writes:

Before urbanization, children were viewed as economic assets to their parents. If you had a farm, they toiled alongside you to maintain its upkeep; if you had a family business, the kids helped mind the store. But all of this dramatically changed with the moral and technological revolutions of modernity. As we gained in prosperity, childhood came increasingly to be viewed as a protected, privileged time, and once college degrees became essential to getting ahead, children became not only a great expense but subjects to be sculpted, stimulated, instructed, groomed. (The Princeton sociologist Viviana Zelizer describes this transformation of a child’s value in five ruthless words: “Economically worthless but emotionally priceless.”) Kids, in short, went from being our staffs to being our bosses.

What Jennifer Senior actually chronicles in her essay is the fact that parents now see children as projects to be developed. These children — especially those in middle and upper-middle class families — are constantly en route to one practice or another, subjected to class after class, and pushed into the level of academic and social success that their parents think absolutely necessary for success in life. These parents feel guilty if they allow a single opportunity for organized play or a learning activity to pass.

Yes, parenthood has changed. Many parents do see their children as described by Senior — as “subjects to be sculpted, stimulated, instructed, groomed.” Parental authority is replaced by constant power struggles, lest the children be psychologically warped by a parent who stands in authority. Discipline is replaced by never-ending negotiation. The peace of the home is replaced by constant activity and frenetic energy. The earliest years of a child’s life are increasingly filled with organized activity and institutional settings.

No wonder parents are less happy now. Add to this the very important insight Senior offers about the age of parenthood. As she suggests, when couples postpone parenthood for so many years, building careers and social lives and professional profiles, parenthood can seem more an interruption than a blessing.

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard

This book is a must read if you have been stuck and need to change something in your life. Here is the link to the book online. I highly recommend reading this book.

http://books.google.com/books?id=I0eLttyfKXAC&lpg=PP1&ots=X6pW7R07QH&dq=switch&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Think, Learn, Create and Adapt

Your economic security does not lie in your job; it lies in your own power to produce-to think, to learn, to create, to adapt.

Retirement Stats

The Social Security Administration says that our of every 100 Americans...

* 51 have income above the poverty level, but must reduce their standard of living at retirement
* 25 die prior to age 65
* 20 have an annual income below the poverty level after age 65
* Only 4 achieve financial independence

How are you doing? It may be time to look at leveraged income opportunities like MonaVie. For more information go to http://www.brighart.com/ffsmain.aspx

Wise Words

1. You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the
wealthy out of prosperity.

2. What one person receives without working for, another person must
work for without receiving.

3. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government
does not first take from somebody else.

4. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work
because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the
other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because
somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear
friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation.

5. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

Do You Have A Good Attitude?

Here are 7 signs that you have a good attitude:

1. Belief in Self: "Many people succeed when others do not believe in them. But rarely does a person succeed when he does not believe in himself." Herb True



2. Willingness to See the Best in Others: I've never known a positive person yet who didn't love people and try to see the good in them.



3. Ability to See Opportunity Everywhere: Plutarch wrote, "As bees extract honey from thyme, the strongest and driest of herbs, so sensible men often get advantage and profit from the most awkward circumstances."



4. Focus on Solutions: People with a positive attitude focus their time and attention on solutions, not problems.



5. Desire to Give: "Generous people are rarely mentally ill people." Karl Menninger, nothing has as much positive impact as giving to others.



6. Persistence: "Many people fail in life because they believe in the adage: If you don't succeed, try something else. But success eludes those who follow such advice...The dreams that have come true did so because people stuck to their ambitions. They refused to be discouraged. They never let disappointment get the upper hand. Challenges only spurred them on to greater effort." Don B. Owens



7. Responsibility for Their Lives: Only when you're responsible for yourself can you look at yourself honestly, assess your strengths and weaknesses, and begin to succeed.

Taken from "Your Road Map For Success." John C. Maxwell

Why Drink MV

Share this with your team so we can all make a difference in peoples lives. The positive results of drinking MV continue to pour in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o47SMl3BmRo

Drink it Feel it Share it.

Know the Rules of the Game

Have you ever played a game with someone and you didn't really know the rules? You may have thought you knew the rules and the angles and the strategy, but you didn't. And every time you play the game you get beat. Beat badly. And it's frustrating. In fact, you don't really want to play the game anymore. You may even think that it is impossible to win a game. You may think that the only way to win is to cheat or choose an easier opponent.

That really is the way our business works. To be successful in Mona Vie, you have to know the rules of the game and understand how to recognize when you are winning. Here is rule number one. Ready? It's all in your head. The battle is not in the market place, it's in your mind. Can you go share your story over and over again with people who don't believe you and try to convince you that their point of view is more accurate than yours? Can you stay enthusiastic about your opportunity while others are saying that their opportunity is better? Remember, that no matter what you do, someone will claim that their opportunity is better than yours, for some reason or another.

This game is played in your head... Can you focus on your dreams and goals while every distraction is attempting to grab your attention? Because if you can stay the course for 1 year with out looking left or right, up or down, you can put together an amazing lifestyle that will blow your mind. The rule to remember is that every time you sit down and share your story and plan with some new person, either you win and they join you or they win and you believe them when they tell you the reason they can't be a customer or join your team.

Every appointment in Mona Vie should result in a sale or a new distributor. The question is can you win the battle in your own mind... Think about it.

Results Are So Much Better Than Theory

Just watch this video about the powerful results of our product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d5sgCBNaJk

Stay tuned for video from Tasting Parties and Trainings!