I have had the unexpected joy of finding a new pastime…watching 4 year olds play soccer. With the Spring we’ve had up here I wasn’t super excited to sign 4 of our kids up for soccer because I knew it meant crazy schedules and sitting outside in the cold for hours. But cabin fever is real and they needed to run.
This is the first year our youngest has been able to play and she wore her cleats and shin guards to bed for weeks before practices even started. When she got on the field, it was no less entertaining! She usually has on some crazy outfit because it’s what makes her feel ‘fast’ that day, she and her teammates kick (and score!) toward the wrong goal…sometimes on the wrong field…completely disregarding the rules by picking up the ball and running it like a quarterback to their parents to show them their prize! Their coaches gently redirect them and we spend practices going over the rules and they’re making progress (no one tried to score a goal on the wrong field this week!). It’s been refreshing to watch them joyfully learn a new game and not get hung up on who won or if they played as well as someone else.
As I watched this week it hit me how differently young kids approach learning a new skill. Rarely do they come up with a long list of excuses that include all the reasons why someone else is better or how they could never learn this. They don’t worry that they’ll look foolish. They jump in and they frequently surprise us with what they’re capable of. They fall on their face (literally) and jump back up and try again. As I’ve worked with more clients I’ve started to see that those who make extraordinary progress do so through the same process, but it’s not natural anymore. They eventually find the joy in trying something new, focus on what they’re capable of instead of looking to everyone else and lose the fear that the world will laugh when they fall down. It takes a bit more practice to enjoy our bodies and what they can do, but it’s still possible at any age.
As you think about your health goals…those you’ve shared and those you’ve never had the confidence to say out loud…what’s stopping you from taking that first step? Is it fear? Doubt? Comparison? Rest assured that everyone (yep, everyone…fear is the #1 reasons clients list for avoiding a health goal) faces those same obstacles. They can become the excuses we use to corner ourselves into old habits or they can be faced and overcome one day at time. Which will you choose today?
