Step by Step

Today a couple of events reminded me that everything in life is a process.

Next month my son will read a book in front of his Kindergarten class as a final assignment. He goes to a Montessori school and his teacher is one of the most talented educators I have ever come across. Part of her teaching method is to involve her students in fun projects that introduce them to the concept of process. The assigned projects take time and effort to complete and culminate in a presentation to the class and parents. This not only builds the child’s self confidence, it also builds their self esteem and concretely demonstrates that seeing a process through has inherent value.

So tonight my son threatened to rip apart the book we bought yesterday and which he is practicing to read to his class. Why? Because he became frustrated at doing something new. Some quick thinking on my part (and I’m not always good at this) helped me redirect his attitude. I asked him to think back to his first day at Taekwondo school. At first, he did not want to participate and wanted to go home because it was all new. Now he has earned a white belt, several tips, and is on his way to earning a yellow belt. He loves his class and has learned the value of focus and practice (he actually noted all of this himself). I told him he just needs to apply the same approach to this book reading assignment and by June he will have it mastered.

He agreed, studied the book a few more times, and then went downstairs to exercise. He likes to test his speed on the treadmill and his muscles on the home gym (I wish I was like that at 5 years old and probably so does my wife - remember that buff body thing I mentioned in past posts).

Inspired by my son’s positive spirit I set out on my own journey again – running outside now that my knee is feeling better. It felt good to run in the rain and I made an interesting observation. To run all you have to do is put one foot in front of the other. On occasion you will come across obstacles, like puddles, that can't be avoided - you just have to splash through them. With time you can go faster and farther (maybe more than you ever thought you could). The trick is to keep at it. That simple. And that’s tonight’s lesson. Keep at "it", whatever "that" is for you.

And to drive this lesson home, let's once again turn to my beloved Rocky.