Are you Mindful of the Dad you want to be?

Are you mindful of the dad you want to be?  When my partner at the Dadvocacy Consulting Group, Allan, asked me that question I didn’t have a clear answer because I had never thought about it.  

To answer the question for myself I decided to break the question down into two parts.  

1.  What does it mean to be mindful of the dad I want to be?

2.  What kind of dad do I want to be?

First what does it mean to be mindful of something.  According to the father of Mindfulness John Kabot-Zin   Mindfulness is the ability to be fully focused on the present moment without judgement.  For further context think undivided attention, front sight focus, fully dialed in.  

To be mindful of the dad I want to be is to know exactly what I want without any doubt.  In other words when I think about the dad I want to be I have no doubts about the authenticity of my answer.

I know without a doubt that I want to be a dad who raises his kids to honor the fallen.  I’ve raised my daughters this way but I have never articulated this as a foundation of my being a dad.

These images are from 2015 during Mindful Memorial Day which takes place at Arlington National Cemetery every Memorial Day.  There is no doubt in my mind that this is the kind of dad I want to be.

So my question to you is, are you mindful of the dad you want to be?  What are ways you can be a dad for your kids that you don’t question or doubt as important?

The reason I ask is because Armor Down has partnered with the The Daddy Wishes Fund to help other dads become more mindful of the dads they want to be.  The DADDY Wishes Fund was created to reward dads who answer the question “What kind of Dad do I want to be” and go out and do it.

Our first dad was awarded $200 to take his daughter on a trip to the aquarium.  A Veteran of the Global War on Terror this dad used his award to be the dad he wants to be!

So dads, can you answer the question, “Am I Mindful of the dad I want to be?”  If you can answer that question in the comments below then we’ve got $200 dollars to help you show your kids!