“It isn’t how hard you kick –
but how you kick.” ~ Samantha
Noel
Good
morning!
A few years ago,
my daughter enrolled in a day-camp program
about archaeology, through the Milwaukee Public Museum.
As part of the day-camp, they had group
activities and group sports.
During the camp
week, I had been out of town for five days,
so upon my return we went out for a “girls’ night” to catch up. She was detailing the camp
and the different
students and the daily structure of the program.
Sammy is a
wonderful child, although she is not naturally
athletic. However,
she has learned that
even with sports, part of it is natural talent but part of it is what
you do
with what you have. With
that mentality,
she has learned to excel. It
was
difficult for her, because she had to survive being the last person
picked, and
use confidence and positive reinforcement to overcome the opinions of
others
and shine anyway.
In this
particular camp, there was a girl who was also not
naturally athletic and who was very nervous about the group sport
activities. During
kickball, she would
often miss the ball completely or just punt a few feet.
She seemed to be constantly “out,” without
ever making it to base.
Sammy pulled her
aside and said, “You don’t have to be
naturally good at sports or super-athletic to be a good player. It isn’t about kicking the
ball hard or with
force, but with confidence. Bring
confidence to your kick and the ball will respond.”
(This is literally how she talks, in case you
were wondering. She
has a vocabulary and
way of saying things that blows adults away. In fact, while I was gone
I asked
her during a phone conversation why she was upset, and she sounded
bothered,
and she said, “Mother, I am upset about multiple issues.”)
Back to our
kickball story – this girl went up to kick and
took Sammy’s advice. She
kicked the ball
hard enough to make it all the way to second base.
Then she ran with confidence on the
subsequent teammate kicks and made it to home plate for her first time.
Your Turn: Where in
your life have you been thinking you need some “secret to success” or
special
talent to achieve the results you desire?
Try following a child’s advice.
Approach your goal with confidence – you will
be pleasantly surprised at
the result. Use
confidence and positive
reinforcement to overcome the opinions of others and shine anyway…then
make it
to “home plate” for the goal of your choice.
Today’s Affirmation: I
approach my actions and goals with confidence.
And as always, don't forget
to
start your day with a heartfelt: "Something great is
going to
happen today... I can't wait to see what it is!"
And when ending
your day ask yourself: "What is one more thing I can do
to
make today matter?
