Making Mistakes In Order to Succeed
Just open a newspaper or tune in to any TV news or commercial break and you are bound to see a story about the upcoming Olympics and the inspiring athletes that will be competing for the Gold. These amazing young people have committed themselves entirely to their sporting event. They have stayed focused on their goals, setbacks and all. They have had to use their physical and inner strengths to get to where they are today, and 
most likely have had a huge amount of support and encouragement from those close to them. One TV commercial called “Pick them back up” by Proctor & Gamble speaks directly to the importance of support by thanking the mothers of the athletes “For teaching us that falling only makes us stronger…For giving us the encouragement to try again”. It’s a heartwarming commercial that carries a very important message to all young people. To be a champion in life, no matter what your goals, you may fall down every now and then. Just get back up and try again.
You may be the parent of an aspiring Olympian, musician or scientist. Whatever they aspire to be or do, allowing kids to pick themselves up when the road gets bumpy will help them to be competent in all areas of life. Our instinct may be to protect our children from any type of failure, be it social, academic or sports related, but experiencing failure is the only way to learn, improve and feel capable.e athletes “For teaching us that falling only makes us stronger…For giving us the encouragement to try again”. It’s a heartwarming commercial that carries a very important message to all young people. To be a champion in life, no matter what your goals, you may fall down every now and then. Just get back up and try again.
Letting kids fail is “one of the most critical things” parents can do, says psychologist and author, Madeline Levine. “That’s the model in life, how kids master things. If we swooped in at the first stumble, a child wouldn’t learn how to walk. She walks because she fails over and over and over again with our continued encouragement and presence”.
Research shows that mistakes motivate us to work harder. They are opportunities to think, strategize, re-evaluate and maybe do things differently. Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD, writes “whether it involves
homework, developing friendships, or playing soccer, learning is enriched through error. Learning from mistakes is part of how kids are challenged to learn to do things differently. It motivates them to try new approaches.” Price Mitchell suggests that instead of rescuing children from their mistakes, focus on the solution. It may be difficult to watch your children make mistakes, but just like the Olympians on the commercial, your kids will thank you for allowing them to experience their journey toward success, bumps and all.