04.02.17 The 13th Key for Adding Value to Your Parents' Lives

13. Make your Parents Proud of Your Achievements

In Ruth Chapter 4, the bible narrates how the elders commended Ruth’s performance. That verse reads (NIV): ¹³So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. …, the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! ¹⁵He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.” (Ruth 4: 13-15, NIV).

Over the years, I have gathered a collection of academic and professional achievements that must have made my parents ‘proud’. My memory goes back to one of those, where my father was recognised by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania during our first ever Customer-oriented Service Improvement Team Annual Conference that my dad attended in Dar es Salaam. The gathering brought over 20 ministries, departments and agencies together, to showcase their achievements as a result of using my model for improving public service delivery. The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Tanzania was the Guest of Honour. Daddy must have felt proud to be recognised by such a high-ranking official in the Tanzanian government.

A value-adding daughter makes her parents proud. In other words, excellent performance can put a parent on the map.

Many parents have joined the accolade of star achievers through their children’s accomplishments, since behind every great man or woman is a set of biological parents, a father and a mother who brought that person into the world.