Isabel couldn't fold an origami crane last night and she got frustrated. Tears, big tears. Then she looked up a video on youtube and she couldn't hear what they were saying. More tears. And anger.
"Why don't you just do this for me?" She asked, choking on frustration.
"I don't want to take all the hard things from you, my job is to help you deal with the frustration as you figure out your own problems."
Last weekend, we were learning how to fish and the same type of issue. She is used to things coming easy for her, she's naturally coordinated-- in most things. It took her a long time to understand how to coordinate her hands to cast.
Folding an origami crane or casting out a fishing line are not true hardships like poverty, addiction or any of the world’s problems. But, making small steps in our own personal lives help us learn how to deal with larger issues. Resolve to finish something you started is important. Knowing the depth of your intellect and the depth of your capabilities is important.
I want my kids to know that they are capable. That they can take care of themselves. And that they can finish a project, even if it is an origami crane.
"If one of my kids is struggling, it feels excruciating to let them go to school and figure it out for themselves. Hope is a function of struggle. People with the highest hopefulness have the knowledge that they can move through adversity. When we take adversity from our children, we diminish their capacity for hope." Brene Brown
