self respect

“it takes a man to be a dad” – National Fatherhood initiative

Father’s day was a good excuse to not only discuss fathers but also to show one of my favorite television campaigns of all time for the national fatherhood association and a couple of the television commercials for Fatherhood Initiative:

(I believe this is one of the best pro bono initiative ads of all time)

Cheerleader: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T37pHK8Cd4A&feature=related

… and

Light Saber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63U9MZ1EZ4o
One word.

Awesome.

Cheerleader, in particular, says everything about being a dad that needs to be said.

And last year I gave my top Father’s movie (my choices) of all time: http://brucemctague.com/father%e2%80%99s-day

Regardless.

For this year’s Father’s Day I was pleased to find a new piece of research.

Why?

Well. Up until this point many studies have linked fatherhood with lower levels of satisfaction with marriage as well as higher likelihood of depression than found in non parents.

But.

A recent study published in Psychological Science magazine suggests fatherhood, even more so than motherhood, is tied to higher happiness, satisfaction and meaning in life scores (pulled from the World Values Study).

And then in another independent study … parents, in general, claimed more positive emotions and more meaning in life then non parents.

Further … in breaking down the overall data it was seen that it was fathers who most enjoyed these benefits.

And there is more.

In addition, the overall positiveness scores were tied directly to activities involving children versus “alone time” <i.e., dads were happier when doing stuff with their kids than if they sat by themselves watching a ballgame & having a beer>.

So. Maslow may suggest the tie to depression is a reflection of higher ‘self actualization stress of being the protector and provider of the family’ (meeting social norms) and the inherent self pressure this creates but the study shows this stress gets counterbalanced thru the pure joy of being a father.

Being a father can create the priceless moments that a job success or personal success cannot attain. Yup. Only your own kids can create that height of satisfaction (in life, in meaning, in marriage …and, yes, in self).

I guess in the end I could have saved them all the trouble from doing this research.

Because I am pretty sure my friends who are fathers are always happier than my single friends. It is said relationships double the joys and halve the griefs. But fathers get to quadruple the joys.

But.

Anyway.

Now there is research to support this. So it must be real.

Ok. And just to showcase a current good example of father & son advertising here is the most recent Verizon execution which I think is pretty well done.

Verizon Dads &Grads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNat2hMup3o

Happy father’s day to all my father buds (and all fathers who know that being a father has priceless rewards for those who choose to …well … father).

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
Marianne Williamson

So.

Every once in awhile you come across a quote that smacks you between the eyes as insightful, thoughtful and inspiring at exactly the same time.

Here you go.

Here is one.

(oh. and she said this quote not Nelson Mandela)

So often we think of personal fears as ones of insecurities or inadequacies or inability to cope with whatever it is life is asking us to cope with.

And, yet, the mirror image of that fear discussion is that we are more powerful than we imagine … and then what?

Okay.

The remainder of the quote/paragraph says something like this …

“We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do.”

Now.

I will admit.

I am not a big “positive thinking” mantra proponent (you know … look in the mirror every morning and say “YOU – looking at yourself not the cat sitting on the counter – … are a winner” type stuff).

But this isn’t just about positive thinking.

This is rational truly insightful stuff.

I mean this is big personal question stuff.

This is sitting yourself down and setting aside insecurities and past relationship baggage and all the crap we seem to heap on our own shoulders (or life seemingly does) and ask ourselves “why do I fear power?” or maybe better said ‘more powerful in business … in meetings … in relationships … in friendships … in life … just add whatever you want here.”

She suggests each of us holds ourselves back not because of insecurities but fear of success.

In Bruce words … “uh oh, now that I have got ‘here’ what’s next? What the hell am I supposed to do now?” type of fear.

It is here that I typically throw in my traditional ‘get going’ and ‘moving forward in life means you are at least going somewhere’ but I am not this time.

Maybe because this quote really really made me think.

About me. About some good friends. Just about people I know.

This quote is about your character. About respect. About self truth.

So.

Maybe the point of showing everyone this quote isn’t any message I am gonna fork over but rather it is just the thought itself.

And maybe you will sit down and think about it.

Cause it is a really powerful thought. As, I would imagine, any time you asked yourself for the truth.

Enlightened Conflict

Tag Archives: self respect

powerful beyond measure

Enlightened Conflict