HealthFlex
×
  • About
    • About Mike
    • About KaleidoEye
  • Services
    • Individual
    • Education
    • Business
    • Athletics
    • Keynote
  • Testimonials
    • Education
    • Athletics
    • Professional Reference
  • Videos
  • Blog
  • Connect

T-I-M-E

March 30, 2014Mike SisselBlog1

untitledEach night when we tuck our girls into bed, my wife and I make a conscious effort to verbalize the three most important words that a parent can share with a child – I LOVE YOU.  Ivy, our youngest, often responds by blowing a kiss or extending a bright, engaging smile.  Emerson, our oldest, takes great pride in trying to out-love us by saying, “I love you one trillion million times.”  Regardless of their response, we feel that it’s extremely important to re-affirm our love by sharing these three precious words. 

The other day; however, I was reminded that it’s not just the act of sharing these words that matters most.  More importantly, we must show them that we love them.  Perhaps you’ve heard of the phrase – Love to a child is spelled T-I-M-E.   This continues to resonate in my mind following a brief, yet powerful interaction with Ivy last week.

It was a Monday morning and my wife had just left for an appointment.  Emerson was at school, so Ivy and I were going to take full advantage of this daddy-daughter time.  As is often the case, she grabbed her favorite Curious George book and plopped down on my lap, ready to be entertained.  Just as I was about to read the first page, I noticed the humming sound of my cell phone, which indicated I had received a new text.  I quickly reached for the phone and began to type in my response.  As I keyed in the last few words of my message, Ivy forcefully removed the phone from my hands and proceeded to say, “Look at me.”  Keep in mind that she is two years old and is just beginning to formulate understandable phrases.  At times, her words are choppy and still difficult to decipher.  Not in this instance, however.  Her words were loud and clear, in more ways than one.

It didn’t matter how many times I had told her the night before that I loved her, I clearly wasn’t showing her that this was the case.  In fact, I was demonstrating to her that I loved my phone enough to make it a priority over her book.  You see, despite the fact that she couldn’t verbalize her thoughts and feelings about my choice to respond to a text, her words clearly indicated that she wanted my T-I-M-E.  Sure I was with her in physical proximity, but I clearly wasn’t with her in mental presence.  She wanted me to be present with her, but I chose to be present with my phone.  In my mind, I saw this moment as a quick detour from our time together; a chance to respond to a text that in retrospect was completely insignificant.  In her mind; however, she perceived it much differently.

In a day and age when smart phones, laptops, or any other digital device continue to compete for our attention, let’s not forget the true meaning of presence with regard to our children.  When you are with your son or daughter, be fully with them, not your device.  Remember, it’s not enough just to tell them that we love them.  We must also show them. 

P.S.  I am making a commitment to put my phone in the other room when playing with either of my girls.  I invite you to do the same. 

Comments

Georgia Lane Reply
March 31, 2014

Just wanted to say AMEN!!! I see this time and time again many times by adults not just kids.

Add Comment Cancel


Follow Me on Instagram

Follow on Instagram
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error: No posts found.

Make sure this account has posts available on instagram.com.

the latest from the blog

  • Different landscape, same mindset Sep 19

    Carpets are cleaned, desks are meticulously polished, pencils are sharpened, and lockers...

  • one or two? Mar 25

    Think back to the last time you had an eye exam.  Aside...

search this site

Connect

[contact-form to="mike@kaleidoeye.com" subject="Kaleidoeye.com web form submission"][contact-field label="Name" type="name" required="1"][contact-field label="Email" type="email" required="1"][contact-field label="Message" type="textarea"][/contact-form]

From Our Clients

“Having been in the coaching profession for many years, I’ve gained the most satisfaction by having the opportunity to help shape the character of my players, ultimately preparing them for life beyond baseball. Mike Sissel is a masterful coach who shares a similar passion for the 'game of life'. His ability to connect with athletes is unmatched. If you have an opportunity for Mike to work with your team, it will truly be the 'gift' that will keep on giving. He has been a blessing to my family.”

Pat Murphy

KaleidoEye
2018-05-23T09:46:00-07:00

Pat Murphy

“Having been in the coaching profession for many years, I’ve gained the most satisfaction by having the opportunity to help shape the character of my players, ultimately preparing them for life beyond baseball. Mike Sissel is a masterful coach who shares a similar passion for the 'game of life'. His ability to connect with athletes is unmatched. If you have an opportunity for Mike to work with your team, it will truly be the 'gift' that will keep on giving. He has been a blessing to my family.”
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/pat-murphy/
“Mike Sissel is an amazing man. With a positive force driving his ultimate vision to help the world be a better place, he reminds young and old what it means to be and do good by finding it in within. His practical steps are accessible to children and admired by adults. Whether he facilitates a retreat, in-service, assembly, or consults, positive and tangible results will be the outcome. I highly recommend him!”

Greg Hebert

KaleidoEye
2018-05-23T09:48:39-07:00

Greg Hebert

“Mike Sissel is an amazing man. With a positive force driving his ultimate vision to help the world be a better place, he reminds young and old what it means to be and do good by finding it in within. His practical steps are accessible to children and admired by adults. Whether he facilitates a retreat, in-service, assembly, or consults, positive and tangible results will be the outcome. I highly recommend him!”
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/greg-hebert/
“Mike has an amazing ability to reach our children and to challenge their thinking. His positive outlook and desire to help every child be the best they can be is inspiring. My daughter comes home from her time with him with a smile on her face and new words of wisdom to share with me.  My 13 year old son watches his motivational videos and every time turns to me and says "He is so right. Everything he is saying is so true".  So thankful to have him in my children's lives.”

 

Sally Moore

KaleidoEye
2017-09-14T15:01:56-07:00

Sally Moore

“Mike has an amazing ability to reach our children and to challenge their thinking. His positive outlook and desire to help every child be the best they can be is inspiring. My daughter comes home from her time with him with a smile on her face and new words of wisdom to share with me.  My 13 year old son watches his motivational videos and every time turns to me and says "He is so right. Everything he is saying is so true".  So thankful to have him in my children's lives.”  
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/sally-moore/
"At Nike, I like to say ‘You Own Your Career’, Mike presented to my team and provided them with strategies & tools that inspired them to take ownership of their actions, performance, and careers. It was Motivational Coaching that impacted all attendees – regardless of their roles. All team members learned what behaviors make good leaders, and that all of us can be a leader. Mike was an energetic, passionate and effective presenter. I look forward to seeing my team practicing and implementing these skills into their Personal & Professional Developmental Plans.”

Jeff DuMont

KaleidoEye
2018-05-23T09:41:45-07:00

Jeff DuMont

"At Nike, I like to say ‘You Own Your Career’, Mike presented to my team and provided them with strategies & tools that inspired them to take ownership of their actions, performance, and careers. It was Motivational Coaching that impacted all attendees – regardless of their roles. All team members learned what behaviors make good leaders, and that all of us can be a leader. Mike was an energetic, passionate and effective presenter. I look forward to seeing my team practicing and implementing these skills into their Personal & Professional Developmental Plans.”
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/jeff-dumont/
“Mr Sissel has been such an unbelievably positive presence both at Gold Medal Gymnastics and at our daughter's school, CEE. There is always enthusiasm and excitement when she knows that they will be having a session with him. The topics that he addresses are so important and he helps the kids see not only life's big picture, but also how individually they can make a real difference for themselves and those around them with their choices. We are thankful and look forward to more work with him in the future.”

 

Margo Ingram

KaleidoEye
2017-09-14T15:04:38-07:00

Margo Ingram

“Mr Sissel has been such an unbelievably positive presence both at Gold Medal Gymnastics and at our daughter's school, CEE. There is always enthusiasm and excitement when she knows that they will be having a session with him. The topics that he addresses are so important and he helps the kids see not only life's big picture, but also how individually they can make a real difference for themselves and those around them with their choices. We are thankful and look forward to more work with him in the future.”  
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/margo-ingram/
“Our school mission has always been to educate the 'whole child', including their social and emotional development. Mike’s contribution to this mission, through the delivery of his meaningful, engaging lessons, has made a lasting impact on our school culture. In addition to the rich content he shares with our students, the energy he brings to each classroom is contagious. He has been an inspiration to our staff and students and truly lives the leadership principles he teaches.”

Christie Winkelmann

KaleidoEye
2018-05-23T09:49:19-07:00

Christie Winkelmann

“Our school mission has always been to educate the 'whole child', including their social and emotional development. Mike’s contribution to this mission, through the delivery of his meaningful, engaging lessons, has made a lasting impact on our school culture. In addition to the rich content he shares with our students, the energy he brings to each classroom is contagious. He has been an inspiration to our staff and students and truly lives the leadership principles he teaches.”
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/christie-winkelmann/
“Wow! What an amazing person! We are so fortunate to have Mike Sissel in our lives. Having two daughters that compete, I cannot thank him enough for all of valuable lessons learned. He empowers my girls with tools and strategies to become not only better athletes but better people. He helps them to build strong character traits that will benefit them long after their time in completion has come to an end. He's had a positive influence on the mindset of our entire family and for that we are truly blessed.”

Kim Roberts-Johson

KaleidoEye
2017-09-14T15:05:04-07:00

Kim Roberts-Johson

“Wow! What an amazing person! We are so fortunate to have Mike Sissel in our lives. Having two daughters that compete, I cannot thank him enough for all of valuable lessons learned. He empowers my girls with tools and strategies to become not only better athletes but better people. He helps them to build strong character traits that will benefit them long after their time in completion has come to an end. He's had a positive influence on the mindset of our entire family and for that we are truly blessed.”
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/kim-roberts-johson/
“The power of positivity is infectious and Mr. Sissel has a real gift of helping others believe that they have the mental strength within themselves to get past whatever they might be struggling with. We were introduced to Mike through Gold Medal Gymnastics and seeing the impact he has made on the lives of so many including our daughter is astounding. He helped her to overcome the feelings of insecurity, feeling bullied and showed her how to focus and 'change her lens' so that she could perform successfully.”

 

Fred Sanchez

KaleidoEye
2017-09-14T15:02:28-07:00

Fred Sanchez

“The power of positivity is infectious and Mr. Sissel has a real gift of helping others believe that they have the mental strength within themselves to get past whatever they might be struggling with. We were introduced to Mike through Gold Medal Gymnastics and seeing the impact he has made on the lives of so many including our daughter is astounding. He helped her to overcome the feelings of insecurity, feeling bullied and showed her how to focus and 'change her lens' so that she could perform successfully.”  
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/fred-sanchez/
“Mr. Sissel has been an incredible positive influence for my kids! Every time he goes to their school they look forward to learning something new from him! I have a teen and preteen and they have had him for the last several years and have quoted his lessons to us at home. Mr. Sissel has a special gift of teaching ALL ages with passion and dedication and truly knows how to connect with his audience, which makes it fun. I have also recommended him as one on one coaching for my dear friend’s son after she went through a divorce and her son was acting out and his insight truly helped her.”

Judy Salinas

KaleidoEye
2017-09-14T14:39:25-07:00

Judy Salinas

“Mr. Sissel has been an incredible positive influence for my kids! Every time he goes to their school they look forward to learning something new from him! I have a teen and preteen and they have had him for the last several years and have quoted his lessons to us at home. Mr. Sissel has a special gift of teaching ALL ages with passion and dedication and truly knows how to connect with his audience, which makes it fun. I have also recommended him as one on one coaching for my dear friend’s son after she went through a divorce and her son was acting out and his insight truly helped her.”
https://kaleidoeye.com/testimonials/3596/
0
0
KaleidoEye
Copyright ©2019 KaleidoEye