Be Hated

Sometimes you have to stand your ground. Fight for what you believe in. Speak your opinion when your opinion is warranted.  Even if it means pissing some people off.

This was the gist of Adrian Tan’s convocation address  (http://bit.ly/Ykz0za). I found it through Derek Muller’s YouTube video, Be Hated.

Essentially, they’re telling us that we’ll have our own opinions, our own methods, our own reason for doing what  we do. Sometimes it won’t mesh with other’s opinions, methods, and reasoning. does that mean we should change?

Hell no. Be you.

I’ll be me.

You chose to breastfeed or chose to bottle feed. You chose to public school or private school or homeschool. You chose not to limit screen time or to limit it or to not allow it at all. You chose to stay at home or to go to work. You chose the sadan or the minivan or the SUV. Somebody, somewhere will hate you for your choice.

They’re not you. It wasn’t their choice to make.

I think this easiliy applies to our kids. If we don’t piss them off sometimes, we’re not doing our job as parents. I do that every night with 3 little words, “It is bedtime.” I’m not saying we need to always piss them off. There’s no need to create a battle where a battle isn’t needed. However, if you make a decision in the best interest of your children you need to stick with it regardless of how unpopular it is with the lolipop gang. There comes a time when we have to be judge and jury, not a friend. It doesn’t mean we don’t love them in that moment. It does mean we do love them because we are caring about their well-being and are seeing to to it that we follow through.

“It is bedtime because I said so” is sometimes a sufficient arguement. Of course, you give them the whole explanation. Just don’t let it turn into a negotiation. My kids love a good negotiation like Danny Roman and Chris Sabian.

Go out and do well.

Go out and do good.

Go out and be hated (but don’t be a jerk).