Have these words every grazed your ears or slid out of your mouth?
- "Quitters never prosper"
- "If at first you don't succeed...try, try, try again"
- "There's nothing wrong with a day's honest work"
- and oh...here's another gem..."Life isn't fair"
I know there are at least 1/2 dozen more myths floating around ready to be sunk into the minds of the innocent.
Unfortunately....I was one of the myth spreading culprits. Awareness of my wrong doing came by way of an 11
year old, green-eyed, curly haired girl I am grateful to call my daughter Zoe. This past Sunday evening Zoe had a slight meltdown.
She was upset because she wanted to drop her karate class and concentrate on her dancing. This summer she tried out a hip hop class and she absolutely loved it. And she is good at it.
Zoe is starting middle school this year. She is a high honors student so far and doesn't feel that she can give 100% to both dance and karate. This is what she finally managed to tell me after hemming and hawing for some time on Sunday evening.
Zoe was fearful of my reaction. She didn't want to disappoint me.
Once my boyfriend and I were able to discuss the situation fully with Zoe and let her know that she needed to do what made her happy she started to relax. She knew that we both supported her love of dance, but there was something underlying that was palpable in her gaze.
I knew that Zoe's father doesn't like her dancing because he doesn't consider hip hop to be a serious art. I wondered if this was bothering Zoe. She also mentioned that some of her friends didn't think karate was cool- could it be the peer factor causing my preteen such unease.
Then the real reason surfaced and wouldn't you know, it was from a myth that I had taught Zoe.
And here are where my tears come.....
You see, I had taught my daughter that quitters never prosper. Somewhere along the line, I had instilled in Zoe a belief that unless she stuck something out to the end she wouldn't realize the reward. A bittersweet seed had been planted in my daughter's mind blown from my dandellion weed. A seed that flowered into a belief in sticking something through even if the struggle proved painful.
It was time for me to uncloak this belief and unveil the smoke and mirrors illusion for Zoe to see.
What I said to Zoe, "Let's chuck that whole quitters never prosper thing. You need to follow what makes you happy. Dancing right now, brings you joy- follow that joy. That's it"
What I am saying to readers of this post, "You know those sayings-"Quitters never prosper" "If at first you don't succeed...try, try, try again" "There's nothing wrong with a day's honest work". Throw those myths away.
- Quitters do prosper if they are quitting to follow their bliss.
- If at first you don't succeed try again only if you feel that repeated attempts will bring you some form of success.
- There is nothing wrong with a day's honest play. That's right- Work/Life balance and I am a vacation advocate.
One thing for sure that my children have taught me....and then again through studying and practicing the Law of Attraction, that I believe with certainty- Life is about joy. It wasn't meant to be about a continual struggle, especially a struggle where we are depriving ourselves to better ourselves.
How 'bout that gem, "Life isn't fair. That is just bull. Life is what you make of it.
Do yourself a favor. Think about your mantras, your guiding principles, your core values and your practices. Listen to those of your children, your peers, your associates, your friends.
Become a myth buster. Seek Joy. Follow your Bliss. Pay It Forward.
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