My daughter is a monkey. The kid can climb, swing and maneuver herself in any direction with minimal effort. She will pull herself up 12-foot poles or balance at the top of any play structure. She is strong and has zero fear; two qualities that lead to success in any physical challenge she comes across. I watch her in awe and do my best to let go of the mother’s fear that she could hurt herself. Instead, I try to rise to her standard of letting go of the fear of falling, of failure, of hurting myself. The truth is, she gets scratched and bruised on a daily basis and has come to terms with that is just part of doing what she loves.
I take that challenge with me to the office. Each day, I put myself out there for rejection, failure and defeat in hopes I will be greeted with acceptance and success on whatever I set out to accomplish. I am doing something I love so I have learned to take any setbacks and funnel it into energy used to push further.
I tried to make it across the monkey bars last weekend only to discover it’s a skill I have lost over the years. Those little people make it look so easy. I asked my girls to teach me again how to swing from bar to bar. Their faces lit up trying to give me pointers. Each time I failed, they presented me with another scenario to see if it would be easier. They took their role as teachers very seriously. It was clear to me how important it is for my children to see me trying something that challenges me. From their point of view it is much easier to see a physical challenge rather than the challenge of working with the FCC. For them to understand the importance of not giving up just because something is difficult is priceless.
Even better was this feeling that they had something to teach me. Now my children have taught me more than they will ever know since the moment they were born but this is the first time I asked for their direct guidance. However simple it may seem, it boosted their confidence tremendously. There are moments in motherhood when you know you’ve hit the mark. This was one of those moments. I look forward to everything else they have to share with me throughout the years. In the meantime, tackling the monkey bars is now written on the pages of my goal book.
What skill have you learned from your children?
My 21-month-old is absolutely fearless. I don’t know that I’m 100% following her lead on this (I’d be running naked in traffic if that were the case!), but she’s definitely taught me to take more risks. And also that the best way to get more ice cream is to ask for it
The top skill….how to shoot a 3 pointer from my one son
who says, “Mom, its really easy….just do it like this!”