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“What is important is to keep learning, to enjoy challenge, and to tolerate ambiguity. In the end there are no certain answers.” (Martina Horner)

You will never be perfect. If you’re on a quest for perfection, you’ll end up at a place called frustration. Parents never “arrive” — neither do spouses — or leaders — or teachers. And there are several reasons for this.

For starters, the people around you (especially your children) are constantly growing through one stage and onto the next. Just when you think you’ve mastered one phase of life, they enter another. But there’s another reason that goes far deeper than that: you aren’t supposed to “arrive” at perfection. Life is always going to be difficult because life is always about growing up.

You see, what’s cool about this practice we call ScreamFree Living is just that, the practice. Sure we all get frustrated when we don’t know exactly what to do. There are times when all we want is a step-by-step, how-to guide for all those testy situations in which we find ourselves on a daily basis. But there isn’t one. Pat answers only go so far before they become pat-ronizing. What really matters in relationships is the process, the revelation, the growth — not the outcome. If you can realize that every interaction with someone is really an opportunity for your own personal growth, you will find yourself more capable to handle whatever comes your way.