This is because when people are motivated, they become more aggressive in achieving their goals and dreams in life despite painful experiences. Studies also show that though motivation from other people helps a lot, it is best if one starts with motivating him or herself. This is because if one knows how to motivate him or herself, that person would be able to make decisions that would affect his or her life in the future. For a person who is preparing for a draining emotional battle, it is best to keep track of how you are doing so you will know where are the areas that you should improve on and what are the things that you should continue doing. If you are able to develop a good outlook in life before the child custody case, everything will start falling into their proper places. The next important step in filing for a child custody case is finding a court in the county that you are in that are fit to handle various custody cases which is the family court. You can find a simple list from the government guide usually listed down on the phone book. For those who still don t know which court they should call, they may ask the county clerk's office or even the people in the local area such as the mayor s clerk since they know which courts accept child custody cases. Some of the factors that a judge looks into when deciding custody rights include the age of the child, past behavior of the parents at home, preference of the child on who will take care of him or her, stability of the parents home, the amount of time a parent can devote for taking care of the child, and the parents ability to finance the child s needs. You will need to fill out some forms from the courthouse. The forms can also be downloaded from the website of the city or county where you live. On the custody form, you will have to write your name and the name of the other parent, the location of your child since birth, and other important details. Custody rights of fathers Before the 70s, custody was often vested with the mothers following the tender years doctrine . The tender years doctrine presumed that children 13 years and under should be with the mother. Later, it was found that the doctrine violated the Equal Protection Clause in the 14th Amendment of the U.