December 24, 2007
6 Year Olds & Their Incredible Determination - What We Can Learn from Them
On Friday, I had the pleasure of helping out at my son’s grade 1 class field trip to a local skating rink. For most of the little ones, this was their first time skating. My son included - he’d never skated before. Here he is with his grade 7 “Buddy” that stood by him the whole time:
At first, my son could barely move without falling down. By the end of the hour, he was taking little baby steps around the rink, moving very slowly…all with the very serious face you see in the picture above.
Many other kids were experiencing the same thing. I was helping one girl who fell like every 5 seconds and she just didn’t look very happy.
I asked her, “Would you like to take a break?”
To which she simply responded, “No.”
She just wanted to keep going and so did all these kids even though they were possibly doing one of the hardest things they’d ever done.
The pure determination on that rink was amazing - and not only were they determined, they were IMPROVING. As the hour ended, I asked my son if he’d skate to the end of the rink with me since he’d been busy with his Buddy the whole time. He obliged and then fell down. I tried to help him and he said, “No Mommy! I have to do it myself!”
Now…what if every Internet Marketer had the same determination to succeed as these little skaters did? It’d be AMAZING!
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Love that! Every time someone complains about their two year old’s stubbornness, I think about that. It will serve them so well in adulthood. If kids gave up as easy as adults do, they would never learn to walk.
Alice, you’ve showcased another facet of the indomitable spirit young kids have shown me in professional life - I mean the tenacity and fortitude of my little patients fighting life-threatening heart birth defects.
Against all odds, they battle and win. Never give up. Always cheerful, hopeful and optimistic.
This experience has given me strength to continue when things don’t look good - after all, if a toddler can, why can’t I?
I agree. Every IM newbie ought to visit the skating rink or intensive care unit of a children’s hospital to learn about never giving up.
Merry Christmas.
All success
Dr.Mani
I believe it’s the spirit inside the child that gives them such determination. They don’t have the fear that us adults get, we can surely take this lesson! Thanks for sharing Alice.
Hi Alice,
Today, some minutes ago, I responded to Lynn Terry’s post about here: http://www.clicknewz.com/1264/learn-copywriting/
I was wondering if you are one of the experts in AWAI?
Are you?
She sent me your links and here on your blog. I love copywriting a great deal. I hope I will learn from your blog.
Hi there “makingyouricher”. I am not at AWAI, but I hope you’ll still find something that is helpful. The blog isn’t really about copywriting, but we talk about it now and then. Welcome!
Yes - for the most part, kids don’t know the meaning of the words “no” or “can’t” — when learning new skills, that’s a good thing.
(when you are in the store and want to leave without buying cookies or a toy, that’s another thing)
Good point, Crissy. They DO think anything is possible.
Yes, these little ones know so much…if we can just keep from “teaching” them otherwise.
My daughter (a bit older) says, “Daddy, I think you should charter a plane to fly me to New York and get a $1500 ticket so I can go to that concert.” While I won’t be doing that, of course, I praise her and tell her to keep on thinking big!
Was it Esther Hicks who said “How can you lose if you never quit?” ?
That’s funny, Tony. I’m guessing your daughter is a little older and her determination hasn’t waned!
You can see the look of pure determination on your son’s face. It always amazes me when I watch my son (or any kids for that matter) doing something for the first time.
I think Vera hit the nail on the head when she said kids don’t have the fear that us adults get. That’s so true.