I remember well the afternoon my son returned home from skateboarding with his mates up the road. This was a daily activity. He would arrive home after school, drop his school bag in the vicinity of his bedroom and head off up the road to skateboard with his mates. I think he was about 14 at the time.
“Dad, check out my latest trick,” he shouted proudly.
I was self-employed at the time, working from home. Indeed, my wife and I had agreed that one of us would always be at home when the kids arrived back from school and, as things turned out, she took on that role while they were in primary school, working half-days, whilst I took on the role during their high school years.
I went outside and he was attempting this latest trick, as they call a new move they learn in the world of skateboarding. He couldn’t get it right, so I headed off, deliberately annoying him.
“Call me when you can get it right. I’ve got work to do.”
“Wait, dad, wait.”
I paused and his moment of triumph arrived and he completed the trick successfully. He was beaming from ear to ear as I decided to ‘seize the moment’.
Our conversation went something like this:
“So,” I said, “you often fall off?”
One only had to look at his bruised shins and legs.
“Do you get back on?” I asked, knowing the answer.
“Yes.”
I looked startled. “Why?”
“To master the trick,” came the quick reply.
“Okay, so now you have mastered the trick, you stop?”
“Of course not. Now I try a harder trick.”
“So, you practice heaps, you fall off, get on and try again until you master the trick – is that it?”
He nodded.
“Well, that’s what goal setting is all about. You know how you always fight me when I try talking about goals? Well, think of it like you do your skateboarding. You have a long-term goal, which is the trick on the skateboard. You take a whole lot of small action steps to achieve that goal. Sometimes you will succeed, at other times you might veer off the path (fall off the skateboard) and have to get up and start again. Each small step will be taking you closer and closer to your ultimate goal. And, when you finally achieve your goal, you set another one, a little harder, stretching you a little more, taking you out of your comfort zone.”
In a few minutes I was able to seize an opportunity to share something I had been battling to get him to understand for ages. Now, through his skateboarding experience, he would have a considerably better understanding of what I was talking about.
“Dad, check out my latest trick,” he shouted proudly.
I was self-employed at the time, working from home. Indeed, my wife and I had agreed that one of us would always be at home when the kids arrived back from school and, as things turned out, she took on that role while they were in primary school, working half-days, whilst I took on the role during their high school years.
I went outside and he was attempting this latest trick, as they call a new move they learn in the world of skateboarding. He couldn’t get it right, so I headed off, deliberately annoying him.
“Call me when you can get it right. I’ve got work to do.”
“Wait, dad, wait.”
I paused and his moment of triumph arrived and he completed the trick successfully. He was beaming from ear to ear as I decided to ‘seize the moment’.
Our conversation went something like this:
“So,” I said, “you often fall off?”
One only had to look at his bruised shins and legs.
“Do you get back on?” I asked, knowing the answer.
“Yes.”
I looked startled. “Why?”
“To master the trick,” came the quick reply.
“Okay, so now you have mastered the trick, you stop?”
“Of course not. Now I try a harder trick.”
“So, you practice heaps, you fall off, get on and try again until you master the trick – is that it?”
He nodded.
“Well, that’s what goal setting is all about. You know how you always fight me when I try talking about goals? Well, think of it like you do your skateboarding. You have a long-term goal, which is the trick on the skateboard. You take a whole lot of small action steps to achieve that goal. Sometimes you will succeed, at other times you might veer off the path (fall off the skateboard) and have to get up and start again. Each small step will be taking you closer and closer to your ultimate goal. And, when you finally achieve your goal, you set another one, a little harder, stretching you a little more, taking you out of your comfort zone.”
In a few minutes I was able to seize an opportunity to share something I had been battling to get him to understand for ages. Now, through his skateboarding experience, he would have a considerably better understanding of what I was talking about.
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