Just in, holy moly, my girlfriend’s daughter got an
“A” on her math test and I had to share this and re-evaluate my recent
blog.
A couple of things crossed my mind: do we stress our kids
out so much that they’re destined to fail? Do we not have as much confidence in
them as they do in themselves? Do we totally underestimate our kids? Do we
project negative feelings on our kids?
Are we more consumed with the worst case scenario than they
are? … probably, I mean that’s part of the mommy make-up.
Or was it simply knowing that an “F” wasn’t the
end all – life would go on – and then letting go of that worry that freed up an
opportunity to conquer?
I had to know what the turning point was and how a potential
failing grade became a mark of excellence.
“What the heck happened?,” I asked my Malibu mama. “Who knew?!?”
She said, “Just telling her to do her best and know
that whatever grade she received – it was going to be ok, lifted so much
pressure off of both of us that she went in there and kicked ass.”
The opportunity to grow from a challenge and to learn how to
deal with failure was both crucial in her development and amazing. But even more
so, the lesson of knowing how to let go of stress, to value the
importance of hard work and to have faith that your best is good
enough was a huge growth spurt for both mother and child. It could possibly free up anyone to achieve the
impossible.
Best news of the day was my friend’s daughter’s A. As my
little Rainbow would say, “she turned that frown upside down.”
I remember when Derek Hough and I won Season 7 of Dancing
with the Stars. We stood in the ballroom wings, before we stepped onto the
dance floor to perform our freestyle – which by the way we had never run
beginning to end because of a couple injuries and some very risky tricks – and we
were scared out of our minds!
We gave each other that “we’re-already-winners” kind of look. Not the competition, but the experience. We knew that getting
that far was good enough and that we had already done the impossible. We felt
like winners regardless of the impossible chance that we’d be hoisting the Mirror Ball above our heads that night.
I remember that feeling. I remember the moments we let go of
the pressure that too many people put on themselves. That freedom allowed us to get out there and
kill it and win it.
Kind of crazy, but think about it: don’t dwell on the
negative, let go of the stress it’s toxic. Always, every day do your best and know that it’s good enough. You never know, you just might
surprise yourself.
