Parents, what are you chasing?
Do you feel like you’re always chasing the next best thing for your kids? The next extracurricular for them to try, or the grades they need to earn? Or is it your own dreams you’re chasing — like careers or travels?
While chasing is often viewed as restlessness, it’s more than just an inability to be still.
With the right mindset, chasing can represent something very different: vision. It can signal your pursuit of growth and your refusal to settle for less. It is how you choose to follow your dreams—for yourself and your family.
When you shift from viewing chasing to choosing, you run towards the best version of yourself.
Growth day by day
So, what exactly does the best version of chasing include?
Healthy chasing means you have a growth mindset. You chose to better yourself day by day.
For parents, this means they imagine what’s next for their family. They quietly hold hope for more, even when life is full. They are also curious, asking quality questions on how they can best flourish.
The worst version of chasing is when you are stuck in perpetual, ceaseless motion. It feels impossible to pause, and the ending seems to be nowhere in sight. There is no choice in the chase, it’s merely endless running.
Many parents get stuck in this version of chasing. Though this chasing still allows them to build meaningful lives, they can’t stop to enjoy and acknowledge all they’ve already created. And they can become exhausted by the chase.
A mindset shift
You can move from endless chasing to purposeful choosing with the right mindset shift. For instance:
- Where chasing suggests something is always out of reach, choosing something means you move forward with intention.
- Chasing says you must always go ahead, but choosing means you’re already grounded in your values and only move on with purpose.
- With chasing, you ask, “What’s next?” But with choosing, you ask, “What am I called to do right now?”
These subtle shifts bring presence back into the process.
Take control of your journey
When you reframe your view of chasing, you can honor the pursuit without letting it control you. You take over the narrative of your journey.
You don’t strive because you are lacking; you move forward because growth is part of who you are. You are a cultivator who responds decisively and makes powerful decisions for your family. You rely on discretion and wisdom to choose what to pursue for yourself and your kids.
This builds unity between who you are and your drive to live well.
This mindset shift isn’t easy. It takes discipline, reflection, persistence, and plenty of self-compassion. You have to learn to slow your run down a bit so you can actually consider your next steps. You also need to learn to look back and celebrate your progress. Don’t just use an achievement to create your next goal.
But when you make the shift from chasing to choosing, you will see a difference in yourself and your family.
Parents, you don’t have to change your drive, just your relationship to it.
Are you unsure how to start shifting your mindset? Try reflecting on these questions:
- What are you called to do right now?
- What makes you feel called to this?
- How do you define when you’ve made it? When you’ve reached what you’re chasing?
- What would it look like for you to honor progress without rushing to the next goal?
- Where in your life are you already living a dream that you once hoped for?
