Pushing Through

I remember watching my niece tackling a craft activity. It began with concentration. Then turned quickly to frustration and annoyance. Finally, disappointment. As she sighed and put her pencil down, I thought she was going to give up. Instead, she looked around. Saw me, came up, and asked for help. What she didn’t realise was that this craft activity was for her older sister (refer to the left of the picture). Or maybe she did??? Haha. She was trying to do something that was designed for kids at a different developmental level, so how could she be expected to do this in one go? I didn’t explain any of this to her. I simply turned it into a game. Modelled out how to do things. Made a few mistakes myself and laughed at them. Sure enough, she caught on quickly and was soon enjoying the activity. Even though she’d never experienced anything like this before and according to the instructions wasn't able to do this activity. Remembering this, I took a deep breath. Put aside my frustration, annoyance, and disappointment as I peeled off the duct tape hiding the crack in my boat. I looked around and asked for help to figure out how to repair it. How was I expected to get this in one go? It's unrealistic to think I know everything about boat repairs. I'd never experienced anything like this before in my life. Yet. Time to push through and learn new things. I guess if you never try something, you never know what you're capable of.

Something to think about...

“If you never try, you'll never know what you're capable of.” - John Barrow Author