What We Gain

We all know that fatherhood is important. Fathers play a critical role in nurturing and raising the next generations of humans and therefore shaping our future.

For kids, the importance of engaged fathers is unambiguous. Research has shown kids with engaged dads have better outcomes on all kinds of health and life outcomes: from education, to substance abuse, to social skills, to mental health, and much more.

Less often recognized is how important fatherhood often is for dads themselves. For men, fatherhood has been found to increase their confidence, boost their physical and mental health, and give them a greater sense of responsibility and purpose.

All of this is alive and present to us outside of the unsentimental world of research as well. If we took the time to consider it for a few minutes, most of us could appreciate how we have experienced these benefits in our lives, either through the fathers around us or in our own role as a father.

But rarely do we take that time - we are encouraged to simply “power through” and even if we want to take time to reflect, evaluate, and improve ourlseves, there isn’t really anywhere to do it or anyone to do it with.

The Fatherhood Circle was founded to provide an antidote to that frantic pace of life and this newsletter will supply a small dose of what we do regularly in our groups and meetings.

Today, I encourage you to take a few minutes to reflect on what the most important thing you have gained from fatherhood is - from your experience with fathers and father-figures or as a father yourself. Write about it, have a conversation, or just meditate on it for a few minutes.

It seems simple because it is; but it’s when we actually take a few moments to notice and appreciate such simple things that we can build awareness around them and conscious habits to cultivate what fulfills us and discard what doesn’t.

For a deeper dive into exploring issues like this subscribe to our newsletter or join a Fatherhood Circle group.