A few years ago my son was slated for another surgery that would take him a bit to recover. And like any parent, I had scheduled for us to go roller skating, hoping for a good time. Everyone was on board up until he wasn’t. The hero held on tight to my hands and halfway across the room he said he was done.
Seriously? You don’t want to reconsider? Nope, done!
He gets overwhelmed with too many people in the room causing for the anxiety to rise but there was part of me that totally felt let down. And to boot, my then 15-year-old didn’t want to do it all – for fear of falling… what?
How else will you learn?
But neither he or the youngest could be persuaded. Though they have both told me that if they had their own and they could practice somewhere else, they would participate? What? Am I confused?
And with the slight disappointment I felt, we left but I wasn’t ready to go home just yet and after some discussion we decided that we’d get our dogs and go to a nearby park and walk a 2-mile trail.
And during our walk I noticed that the kids really had a good time. Like a much better than at the roller-skating rink – there was laughter and smiles and banter.
And my heart was at peace again and I realized that my attitude may not have been the best due to my own disappointment but that we were still able to turn it around and have a good time.
But how exactly does do they learn from you and how does it make you a leader?
You are showing flexibility.
It’s one of those things I believe is needed when we want to be good leaders. Being too rigid, too authoritarian is not helpful. instead creating a space where they can express their thoughts, feelings and concerns and feel supported is perhaps what any of us could ask for.
How can you show up in your life that teaches your kids to be a leader?
