Sooner or later, all children will find themselves in a world where they need to obey the rules or suffer harsh consequences. By making your children obey the rules at home, you're actually doing them a favor in the long run. Don't ever punish your children unless they're disrespectful, but when they are, don't hesitate to show them that they've done something wrong. Your rules should be reasonable, simple, and consistent. Be clear with your children about what the rules in your house early on. Don't get upset if your children break a rule that they weren't even aware of. When your child is disrespectful to you, you have two choices: you can lash out in the same way, or you can fight to stay calm. The former option teaches your child that it is acceptable to be rude when someone starts frustrating you. The latter, which is the better choice, teaches that it's important to stay respectful even in the face of people who won't do the same for you. If you can manage to stay respectful, your children will thank you when they eventually have to deal with an annoying boss or an unpleasant teacher. This is vital. Consistent enforcement of your rules shows your children that it's not possible to weasel out of their responsibilities. On the other hand, if you fail to teach your children respect when you're tired or when it's inconvenient, they'll quickly learn that they can get away with bad behavior sometimes. Children are smarter than they're often given credit for. If there's a way for them to get out of learning a valuable lesson, they'll often find it. It's also important to make sure your partner is on the same page as you here. Having one caretaker who is "hard" and another who is "soft" will just teach your children to go to the soft one when they've misbehaved. Whenever you can, have the punishment for disrespect be the natural consequences of your child's actions. In other words, if their disrespect causes something bad to happen to them, let this happen (as long as it is not a serious, physical danger, obviously). The earlier children learn that being disrespectful only creates problems for themselves, the better. For example, if your child is repeatedly rude to her friend when they are playing together, a good natural consequence might be to send the friend home, have your child hand-write an apology letter, and hand-deliver it.

Summary: Be strict, but fair. Meet disrespect with respect. Be consistent. Make your punishments fit the crime.

The messages you tell yourself determine your perception of yourself, as well as your ability to accomplish your goals. If your inner dialogue is negative, you may become the greatest obstacle to your own success. Look for the following types of statements: "I'm not good enough." "Everyone knows I don't belong here." "I'll probably just fail again." "Everyone else is ahead of me/doing better than I am." "I waited too long/wasted too much time." Notice when your inner voice feeds you negative messages. When this happens, replace that thought with a positive message. Over time, the negative messages should diminish. As an example, you might notice this negative thought: "I'll never be able to finish a race that long." You could replace that with, "Everyone starts somewhere. If I work hard, train smart, and stick to it, I can accomplish my goal." It's normal to have fears, but they can hold you back if they're left unchecked. You need to figure out what you're afraid of so you can confront it. Question the reasons behind your fears, then face them head on to challenge their truth. Ask yourself questions like these: What am I afraid will happen? What in my past has made me afraid to put myself out there? Why do I think I will fail? What will happen if I fail? How can I overcome my fear? Trying to suppress your feelings won't make them go away. Instead, they'll just bubble beneath the surface waiting to explode. Let your emotions come and acknowledge how you feel. Then, release them. For example, you may notice you feel sad about losing a competition. Say to yourself, "I'm sad right now because I really wanted to win." Allow this feeling to pass. Don't let someone else's life become your measuring stick for yours. You'll always come up short because you only see the highlights in their life, not the daily struggles. No one's journey is the same as yours, so you can only compare yourself to you. Use the past version of you as your measuring stick. As long as you're improving upon yesterday, you're on the right track! For example, don't compare your life to what you see posted on social media. People usually post only their best moments and may even misrepresent how well they're doing. It's not a fair comparison!

Summary: Confront your inner dialogue that holds you back. Counter negative inner dialogue with positive self-talk. Determine the source of your fears about failure or success. Acknowledge your feelings without letting them control you. Stop comparing yourself to others.

Take some time to come up with the ways you want to improve your current kitchen. One of the most important questions is if you have enough space. You may need to add onto your kitchen. After settling on space, pick out the kitchen features you absolutely have to have. For example, your dream kitchen may feature an island cooktop instead of a traditional stove. Save pictures of kitchens you like. Use them to identify features you want in your ideal kitchen. Decide upon a maximum amount of money you're willing to invest in the remodel. As you plan your kitchen, do some research to find out how your plans fit your budget. You can do this by searching for furniture estimates online, visiting furniture showrooms, and talking to designers and contractors. Most of the time, remodeling costs more than you'd expect, so you'll need to alter your plans or budget. The biggest priority is getting the layout and utilities right. Cabinets and countertops are the next part. These will comprise most of your biggest expenses. Don't forget to add in designer and contractor costs. Take the time to draw out your kitchen. Figure out where you'll put your refrigerator and other appliances. Add in the counters and cabinets. A complete sketch shows you how much space you have to work with. You may need to opt for smaller appliances, counters, and cabinets in order to maintain enough free space in the kitchen. Keep in mind where your utility lines are going to be. Electrical outlets, plumbing, and gas lines all affect the arrangement. To save money, have the contractor keep them where they are now. Most likely you have an idea of how you want the kitchen to look. Perhaps you want your kitchen to look modern instead of traditional. It could be all wood, or it could incorporate a color theme. Picking a style means focusing on the overall look of the kitchen rather than its parts. For example, a kitchen with a modern style might have a black, gray, or white color scheme with a lot of reflective surfaces and marble walls. The appliances can be metallic and the furniture can look very sleek and minimal. A cottage kitchen could have checkered light blue or yellow patterns, vintage or white appliances, wood floors, and colorful decorations. For a farmhouse kitchen, wood flooring and furniture works well. The color scheme can include red, yellow, blue or white. Stone and brick appliances can also give a rustic look. A French or Mediterranean kitchen looks very ornate. It can feature warm colors with white or yellow walls and wood cabinets. It might have hand-painted wall tiles, a chandelier, copper pots, or ceramic crafts on display. Even if you plan on building the kitchen yourself, speaking to a designer is a good idea. Kitchen designers and architects can help you finalize your remodeling plans while staying within your budget. Construction contractors provide outlines for structural and utility work. You'll need these plans to apply for building permits. Significant remodels involve a lot of different parts, from electrical wiring to furniture installation. Usually you can get one contractor to do everything you need. Get estimates from at least three companies. Each contractor should talk to you about your design plans and give you an estimate. Use the estimate to figure out if you need to change your plans to stay under budget. Search the contractor's name online to find reviews from other customers. Consult your local government to figure out what permits you need. For most work, you won't need a permit. If your remodeling plan includes building or demolishing walls, window openings, or utility lines, you'll most likely need a permit. Designers, architects, and contractors can take care of this.
Summary: Pick the features you want in your kitchen. Come up with a preliminary budget. Plan out the kitchen's floor space. Determine the kitchen's style. Get construction plans from a contractor. Get contractor estimates. Apply for construction permits.