I’ve heard this concept stated a few different ways in recent weeks …
A child is either committed to their sport or their not. You can encourage and support, but ultimately, THEY choose.
Another time, I heard a successful, well known musician talk about how you can tell if you have a musician on your hands …
When they play instruments/music ALL day long, and you have to ask them to stop (lest you go insane) rather than having to get them to practice, then you might have a musician on your hands.
If they pick up an instrument or two here and there and enjoy playing it well enough, but getting them to practice consistently is like pulling teeth, all that means is that music just isn’t THEIR thing.
I believe in this concept wholeheartedly. I have seen it with my own eyes time and time again.
When your child finds something THEY want to do, they commit with an intensity that will have YOU scrambling to keep up. There is no need to push. They will drag you along in their pursuit of THEIR goals.
If you haven’t seen this in your child yet, don’t fret. It does NOT mean that they lack ambition or that they’re lazy or that they are doomed to failure for life or any of the other things we are afraid of when we aren’t seeing them excel.
Stop letting your fear influence how you act and speak toward your child(ren)!
If you’ve never seen your child(ren) pour their heart and soul into something, day in and day out (even when they don’t feel like it), ALL it means is that they have not yet found the thing(s) that light them up from the inside out.
I truly believe, with all my heart, that EVERY single one of us has our own unique gifts and talents and strengths that we bring to the world. There IS something amazing that your child is MEANT to do and be.
Your job then, as their parent, is not to push them in things they don’t have that kind of commitment to.
Instead, simply remain encouraged about, and focused on, helping them discover the things that set THEIR soul on fire.
Once that happens, all your really need to do is just love and support and encourage them while constantly believing in their ultimate success as they run toward their dreams faster and harder than you could ever even attempt to push them.
