May often brings busy weeks, like this one, with kid’s school activities. It’s wonderful and it can be a little taxing at the same time. I never want to miss anything and yet, the amount of work to be done doesn’t seem to get any smaller. Oh the joys of being a mother!
But this week was worth it.
This week both of my boys had their little class awards presentations at school. I, of course, was incredibly proud of their awards. It was interesting though, because Oaks received the character award for “endurance”. The teacher explained that he’s not a quitter. He tries new things and doesn’t quit until he gets them right.
She was SO right on.
Whether it’s twisting an old-school Rubik’s Cube until it’s solved, learning to play pool, learning to play football, putting a Lego ship back together after it’s been dropped on the floor, or learning to read (which has been quite a challenge), this kid doesn’t quit.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that. What keeps him going, even when it’s frustrating and difficult?
He holds out hope that he can do it.
He genuinely hopes and believes he will get it. . . eventually. He will learn the new thing, or finish the task. Why quit if you believe you’ll succeed?
It’s not that he has no fear. He certainly does. He gets super nervous and frustrated when he’s first learning something new, but he doesn’t let that fear guide his choices.
I can learn a lot from him, I bet you can too.
We underestimate how often we make our choices out of fear. We don’t try something new because we’re afraid it might not work. We quit too soon because we’re afraid we can’t make it. We’ve learned these patterns from a lifetime of choices.
The good news? They can be unlearned.
It just takes a lot of intentional practice. Practice adjusting your mindset from listening to the fear, to giving hope your attention instead.
So today, as you go about your day, consider your choices.
Have you been making choices out of fear or out of hope?
Nelson Mandela says it best:
