Image: Flickr/Alonso Mayo

While in a fast food restaurant, a friend of mine saw a tyrannical preschooler running away from his mother and knocking food off of other people’s tables. As he screeched past her, she glimpsed his tshirt. It read: “Center of the Universe – and I know it.” 

How much better off would we be if instead of these “cute” sayings we plaster on our children, we actually used ones that were helpful – like the one by Edmond Burke. He said, “He who wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper.”

The next time your child tests your wit and skill, imagine them wearing Burke’s quote on the front of their shirt. Kids are meant to test us. That’s what they do. They actually make us better adults because they call us to the highest parts of ourselves. If we can see each power struggle and act of defiance as a chance to grow, we will not only make better decisions, but we’ll actually get stronger in the process. As we continue in this practice, things that we once found impossibly heavy will begin to feel like no weight at all.