Life Skill # One: How to feel motivated by love and a desire to create and explore- rather than being motivated by the FEAR of mistakes and imperfection!
Everything about traditional schooling is FOCUSING on a child’s mistakes and judging them by every little thing they do wrong instead of the many things they do right.
Success and happiness in schooling is based on getting nothing wrong. So kids grow up thinking that a mistake is a sign of failure.
Kids should be free to make mistakes in the process of mastering skills and studying academics. WHY? Because learning to work through life without being a PERFECTIONIST is one of the most needed skills!!!
How many of us think we will never be good enough?
Why are we hyper-focused on our own small shortcomings?
Why are we always obsessed with those three things we got wrong in a day instead of the 1,000 things we got right??? Yeah that time you yelled at your kid on Christmas Day!!!! But it’s really not a big deal!!! Look at all those beautiful moments you shared and those memories YOU created and all the love you poured into each gift under the tree!
So what’s going on here?
In school kids learn to make their lives revolve around perfectionism and fear of failure… or we just give up and believe that we will never be enough.
Please, don’t give in to this style of raising and educating children!!!
This is why Fun-Schoolers thrive! Fun-Schoolers are free, confident, creative, optimistic and comfortable with TRYING and TRYING again. Fun-Schoolers create journals and portfolios that show their progress and illustrate their personalities and passions. When your kids are fun-schooling they learn through real life skill building.
If you are afraid you will never measure up, if you are always focused on the shortcomings of the people you love, if you think that mistakes represent failures- you need to let go of all that pressure you grew up with when someone (everyone) tried to standardize YOU and put you in a box called “perfect”.
Try to rethink your own perspective on what is “good enough” but being grateful for the way you did 1000 things well yesterday, even it you flubbed up 5 or 10 times!!!! You were amazing! Move on from the failure mindset and embrace GRACE for yourself and your kids. And your spouse too!!!!
You can start the new year with NEW EYES that see the 1000 good things instead of those few faults… in yourself and in your world.
You are going to be okay. And I’m ready sorry that the stupid education system you grew up in told you you will never be good enough! It’s not true. You are a gift, a blessing, a treasure, you are worthy of love and what you do us good enough!