The story of Abraham Lincoln's life....overcoming adversity at seemingly every turn of his life.....may be familiar to many people. But some of the other stories of high profile individuals featured on this short youtube clip might surprise you. All of them persevered through failure and rejection to achieve excellence. How would they fare if raised in today's PR crafted, celebrity-obsessed, failure-is-not-an-option culture?
How does this relate to youth sports? Well because it's important for children to be allowed to mess up. Research has shown that the profile of the child most likely to struggle in adulthood is the Big Man On Campus because he never faces adversity......until it's too late. As a parent I wanted my boys to experience failure. Too many parents want their kids to be viewed as successful at all times. If they are allowed to fail, they will fall behind their peers. "What's going to happen to my boy if he's not keeping up with Johnny?!"
The problem with this line of thinking is two fold. It's not practical because projecting future success based on how you rate as a 14 year old is impossible. More importantly children who feel that they HAVE TO BE SUCCESSFUL stop striving. Instead of constantly seeking to improve, they feel pressure to settle for a favorable perception. This is why so many athletes get to college and stop working. In their minds they've arrived!
As Bill Gates once said "It's fine to celebrate success, but it's more important to heed the lessons of failure." When your child stumbles, let him get up on his own. Restrain yourself now so that your child will hold up later......when it really counts. The bailout craze does not apply to parenting!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hz_s2XIAU
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