Walking like dad

There is an old Dan Seals song that talks about Seeing my Father in me. The chorus has a line that goes “I notice I walk the way he walks. I notice I walk the way he walks, I’m starting to see, my father in me.” That song never really had a lot of meaning for me until I had children of my own. It’s funny how children are a mirror image of their parents. Sure they might look more like one parent than the other, but their personalities and attitudes are a direct reflection of the way we, as parents, treat them and act to others around us. We set the example for them to follow. How can we expect our children to be honest, respectful and kind if we as parents aren’t leading by example.

Stress has a way of bringing out the worst in people. Tense situations can let tempers boil over, words to be spoken that otherwise would have been filtered out, and actions to happen that lead to regret. How do you handle stress? Is it a healthy coping mechanism? Is it a way that you would want your children to handle stress? If your answer for dealing with stress is to belittle those around you and blame them for the problem, you probably need a new way of handling stress, especially if you are in a position of authority or leadership. Acting out like this can lead to high turnover rates and low employee morale. You can also do some real harm to your reputation, or the reputation of your company. We teach our children to be independent, to think for themselves and to solve problems on their own. Part of that is allowing them to make mistakes so that they can learn from them. If companies want employees to be free thinking, problem solving, self starters, they have to give those employees the ability to do those things. They have to allow for a few mistakes, and for learning to take place from those mistakes.

I’m far from perfect. There are times when I don’t handle a stressful situation the way that I should. I do however do my best to learn from every situation and to be better next time. I am blessed to have an employer who allows me to solve problems and to have a certain level of autonomy so that I feel connected to my work. I catch myself at times wondering why my children act the way they do in certain situations, and smiling at the way they handle others. There is no doubt that I am seeing the reflection of myself in my children, just as I hope my parents saw the reflection of themselves in me. Hard work, honesty and pride in a job well done are all things that are invaluable in life. Good character is something that is worth its weight in gold.

We all have an example to follow. Whether our parents taught us or not. I believe faith is as important to character as anything else if not the most important. Christ walked this earth as a perfect example for us to follow. He would withdraw to be alone and collect his thoughts, he would pray for guidance, and he would comfort those who were grieving and broken-hearted. I have to ask myself, is he seeing his reflection in me? Am I walking the way he walked, am I talking the way he talked? I’m not there yet, but I sure think I am improving from one day to the next. That’s all for this time, keep tabs on your side of the barbed wire and God bless.

Meinzer is a fourth-generation rancher raised on the southeastern plains of Colorado. He and his family live and ranch in Oshkosh, Neb.