Life is a Journey

This evening my son and I sat down as is our custom and spent some time discussing his day. I like to hear what he has to say about the world he lives in. I want to know his thoughts, understand his concerns and take care of of his fears.

His opening question was "did you win?" He asked because I had just returned from the gym where I had spent a couple of hours playing basketball. In some respects it wasn't much of a question as it was really more of a statement. He still thinks that I am bigger, badder, better and stronger than anyone.

It is kind of an empowering feeling. It really makes me feel good. I want to enjoy this moment for as long as I can because one day he will realize that I am just a man. That is ok, but we can wait. I also am trying to impress upon him that exercise is always going to be important. Exercise your mind and your body or you could win this award.

He pressed me about the gym so I told him that my team won. For that matter we won six games in a row. It was a great day at the gym, there is nothing like running the table. It just feels really good. The big boy was really excited about this and asked me if we won because of me and I was pleased to be able to tell him that we won the first game because I tipped a shot back in.

I was pleased because I did it and because it gave me another opportunity to speak with him about hard work and effort. He is still a little young for some of the lessons I want to review with him but it is never too early to start teaching.

What I told him was that life is a journey, it is a big trip that you go on, an adventure that you get to live every day. And as his eyes got bigger I talked to him about how sometimes there are people who are bigger, stronger and smarter than us. There are always going to be people that have more talent but there are ways to make it more fair.

Actually I said that there ways to solve the imbalance and then I realized that he wasn't following so I flipped to the easier concept of making it more fair. Part of the way that you do that is to be tenacious, persistent, stubborn and determined to do the best that you can. When you do those things, when you keep at it and you don't quit good things happen.

They happen because many people are unwilling to do that. They give up. When it gets too hard they just drop and run away. And that provides others with an opening to succeed.

New post coming right up.