
I had the wonderful pleasure today of watching a goal being created and then seen through in it’s entire process. My 18 month old son Oscar followed me into the bathroom this morning and we have a step down which he normally lies down and comes down backwards to do it safely.
I turned to watch him and a really cheeky smile spread across his face as he stood right on the edge of the step looking down and then at me. I knew what he was thinking, he was planning on learning how to walk down the step without help. I knew I was in for a really interesting few minutes and I was right!
He stood there for a few moments, thinking, scheming and plotting (probably visualising himself doing it too), then he looked up at me and launched himself off the step. It’s a big step and he ended up in a little crumpled heap at the bottom, but the great thing was that he had a great big smile on his face. He knew that he was going to do it and it didn’t matter to him that he hadn’t quite got it right.
Up he jumped and then he tried it again. This time he paused for only a second and then off he went again. This time was better, but he had to steady himself on a bathroom cabinet to stay upright. He laughed excitedly and then up he went again.
Over and over he practised, once he fell and bumped his face on the tile floor, but he barely noticed and was so excited that he laughed it off and climbed up for another go.
After a few minutes he was leaping off the step and laughing loudly, pleased as punch with what he had achieved! Not only did I get to share in his wonderful development, but also I witnessed so many lessons about setting and achieving goals in only a few minutes.
The most important thing was that he didn’t care that he wasn’t getting it right, he was so involved and excited about the process of learning to do it for himself that it didn’t matter how long it took, or how many times he fell over in the process of trying.
Imagine a world where we tackle our goals with such childlike curiosity, excitement and playful action! The destination (although it’s important to have one) isn’t really that important – it’s what you learn on the way and the fun you have!