As children, we have been encouraged...

A couple of years ago, after my mother has a hip surgery and she has to go to a rehab for physical therapy. I remember every day after her physical therapy session my brother and I used to get excited about her progress – Did you see her taking her first step? Did you see her how she bends and picked up her cane? Guess what, she put her socks and shoes all by herself today!  Everyday, she has to go and do those things again and again, until her muscles get stronger and she would be able to do everything she needs to do. It was not easy, but with time, determination and with the grace of God, she did it. And we were there everyday, to push her, to cheer her, to encourage her and to laugh with her.  Whatever she accomplished, that was the highlight of our days.  All these things that we got excited about, she has done it her whole life but we never looked at them as something great, until she lost it. What happened to her was a lesson and a reminder to me that everything I do well now, I had to work hard and to do it so many times before I master it - even something as easy as walking.

As children we have been #cheered and #encouraged for every effort we made. I remember what a wonder it was to watch my nephew grow. Everyday, there was something we were praising him about. Did you see him looking at me? Did you see him smile? Did you know he turns today? Did you see him trying to crawl (he did not even crawl)? Did you see how he tried to get up, to walk? Did you see him taking his first step? Learning to do each of those things was not easy for him. Most of the time when he tried to stand, his little legs were not strong or stable enough to support him and he would fall.  He fell so many times. Sometimes, he would cry, sometimes he gets frustrated, sometimes he laughs and giggles, other times he knew he needed our help and he was not ashamed to reach out to us.  It might take him a while to try again but he never wait too long to try.

Everything he did was a great, we were proud of him. Actually, when he failed to do something, we cheer him, we laugh with him, we pick him up. We hug and kiss him. For the most part, he picked up himself. It does not matter how many times he fell, he would keep trying until he gets it right. He does not see his felling as something to be ashamed of, he just keeps going until he gets it right. He is sure of his ability to achieve what he is set to do, he is determining. The story does not end here, he would continue to learn new things, and he would not get it right the first time, yet, I know he will keep at it until he does.

We all have been through this stage; we had the same #determination to rise up every time we fall. So, when and how did we lose this character? We lost this talent when we grow up because the same people who used to cheer us to get up and try again, now they are scolding us for not getting it the first time. And, if we continue to try again and again, they would think we are idiots and they laugh at us.

Getting all the cheering and all the encouragement help kids, but at the end of the day they are the one who got up and kept on trying until they get it right. We can argue it is easy for them because they don't know what failure means, however, I disagree. They know much more about falling than us because they knew nothing about falling to begin with. They did not feel they have to justify their fall. They did not take our feedback into consideration, whether we laugh at them, tease them or cheer them. All they knew is, if they keep trying eventually they will get it right.

I think, we #give-up easily because we don't remember the important lessons that we have learned how to walk, had we remember, we would not be so eager to give up our dreams without fight. So, the next time we face some challenges; let us try to remember how we had learned to walk. Also, when we see someone struggle to learn something, let us try to cheer them, encourage them and try to show them the humor by laughing with them.