I have a two new strong women friends thanks to a passion for a common cause. These women embody strength and perseverance. They possess that never quit attitude. The same attitude we strive to instill in our children.
Our common cause did not end in our favor. One of life’s most important lessons is learning to pick yourself up when you fail. Or even just dust yourself off when others knock you down. Tell you there’s no hope. Say you can’t change things. You power through, work harder, learn more, find new confidence. Never stop trying. My new strong women friends remind me of this constantly. And I needed it this weekend…
That’s when I witnessed my son’s first big test of confidence. It’s something many adults experience, yet do not wish for our kids. You love something, have a
passion for it. Then something happens that makes you feel not good enough. Whether the insecurity’s cause is accidental or purposeful, the resulting feeling is still the same. It hurts.
We never want anything to break our kids’ spirit, drive and confidence. Inevitably something comes along and tests them – and our parenting skills. What to do? How do you keep your child from giving up? If they start to, how do you teach them to get up off the ground and dust off their own rear end? Push through, keep trying – without doing it for them. Protect by giving them life survival skills.
We helped our son with encouraging words. We reminded him of his strengths and ability. Eventually I realized that although his confidence was shaken and ego slightly bruised, he wasn’t giving up. He told me he was just going to have to work harder. He had a fire in his belly I hadn’t noticed before – a new drive. Through all my worry I had almost missed him get up and dust off his own butt. We helped, but didn’t do it for him. His confidence was still there. The drive was alive and strong. Somewhere along the line he figured it out.
So thank you to Laurie and Carolyn for never giving up, working hard. For leading by example. Maybe the beauty is you helped me and that in turn helped a wonderful 11 year-old boy. It’s all a cycle. He stood up on his own. Determined to work hard and keep learning – even in the face of failure. Thank you fine ladies!
