Purple Persistence

I said goodbye to my cast this week. I’m grateful that great doctors and modern science helped my broken trapezium (you might have to look that one up, I know I did!) to heal properly.

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That being said, I still have to admit I was beyond excited to get rid of the thing. It was heavy and clunky, made my arm itch, and frankly was starting to stink!

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My lovely purple cast came up almost to my elbow and held my thumb way out to the side so I lost all opposable thumb function, thus inspiring me to develop my persistence. Did you know you can tie your shoes by making a pincher with your middle and pointer fingers? Certainly not as strong a grip as you get with your thumb, but hey, it works. Oh yeah, the first time I tried it took me a full five minutes, but with (drumroll) persistence, I got pretty darn fast.  

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Of course I was highly motivated to master my technique because I hate walking around with my shoes untied and didn’t always have someone nearby who could literally lend a hand. I also figured out how to buckle up my own watch band, wash my hair, and type with 6 fingers.

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Calvin Coolidge said that:

Persistence, the continued effort to do something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success, is an often underappreciated virtue. And I found that practicing persistence also stimulated my creativity.

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How about your kids? It’s easy to see how persistent our kids are when they are young. Our 11 month old great granddaughter is wildly persistent as she tries to learn how to stand alone and take those first steps. You can have fun with your older kids setting up some challenges to stretch their persistence. Can you finish the ropes course, get all the way across the monkey bars, or eat that doughnut with your hands behind your back?

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Happy Persistently Failing Forward,

Anne

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PS Want to help your kids have less stress and more success at home and school? CLICK HERE to get a copy of our book, The Resiliency Toolkit: A Busy Parent’s Guide to Raising Happy, Confident, Successful Children.