Shoot For the Moon
Harnessing a Child’s Enthusiasm to Achieve Your Goals
By Sue Dickinson
www.UnlimitedMom.com
Whoooosh! As I relaxed in a lawn chair, my six-year-old
sank yet another basket. Watching his skill develop, I couldn’t help
but dream about him becoming an NBA star some day. I could just picture
it…I, his proud mama in the stands adorned in the appropriate team
sweatshirt. After the game - a big hug and kiss for his mom while
fans surround him and scream "We’re Number One!" And (of
course), I could clearly see the big house he’d buy me to live out
my old age (come on, if a girl’s gonna dream she may as well dream)!
When my husband and I first recognized my son’s passion
for basketball, we did everything we could to help nurture his interest
into the talent he so desperately wanted. I found a basketball camp
in the area that would teach him the proper way to shoot and handle
the basketball. My husband spent night after night watching basketball
games with him (what a sacrifice…), explaining the rules and pointing
out the techniques of the game.
It’s easy to recognize our children’s gifts and get
excited and involved in developing them. Since it is so much fun to
see the progress our kids can make, isn’t it strange that the same
optimism about developing a new skill or finding a gift doesn’t always
spill over to us?
Maybe one reason is that when we look at a child,
we see nothing but a blank slate, ready to be filled with whatever
outrageous and exaggerated dreams they can think up. Anything is possible!
As we get older, though, our slate is no longer clean – we have "responsibilities"
and "obligations" that leave no room for larger-than-life
dreams. We foster the belief that if we can’t have it all, it’s not
worth trying.
What a shame and a waste! If we were limited to the
gifts and talents we develop as a child, many of us would never discover
the wonderful things in store for us. Anna Mary Robertson (also known
as Grandma Moses) never even picked up a paintbrush until she was
in her mid seventies. The year before she died, at 101 years old,
she painted 25 pictures. What a loss it would have been if she had
decided she had too many things preventing her from fulfilling her
dream!
Sadly, that’s what many people much younger than
Grandma Moses believe… when in reality, the possibilities for them
are limited only by their own self-made barriers.
During the next few weeks I challenge you break that
pattern of self-destruction. You have built-in role models in your
kids to observe and emulate – really watch how their excitement and
zest for life and their built in desire to excel propels them to unlimited
possibilities. Then, try to harness even a little of that enthusiasm
into your own quest to achieve your goals and dreams. True, with your
busy life you may not attain everything you desire immediately. But
the results are bound to be better than the status quo! After all,
as Les Brown reminds us, it’s always better to "Shoot for the
moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars!"
© Copyright, 2004
Sue Dickinson is the author of What’s a Mom to
Do? Overcoming the Urge to Put Your Life on Hold and the creator
of www.UnlimitedMom.com,
designed to celebrate the many facets of Mom. Because when you recognize
them all, your possibilities are unlimited!
Visit http://www.unlimitedmom.com/whats-a-mom-to-do-book-by-sue-dickinson.php
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