Fall Down, Make a Mess and Occasionally, Break Something

When’s the last time you truly made a mess? When’s the last time you failed at something? Having trouble thinking of something? Read on.

I recently came across a blog post called, “25 Life Lessons for My Daughter.”

I liked it so much I sent it to several of my friends. The author, MetroDad, offers great thoughts for mental munching.

London Bridge is falling down…
My friend became a grandfather last year and the baby is learning to walk. She falls down all the time and every time she simply gets back up again. As I watch her I think, if I’m not goofing up, I’m probably not taking enough risks. The older I get, the fewer risks I want to take.  But I make myself find ways to stretch. It’s what keeps me interested and I hope, interesting.

A few years ago, I decided to try downhill skiing (snowy clime and all…). First time was great. The second time I fell off the chair lift and fractured my pelvis. (Yeah, ouch.)  As I looked back, I thought oh well, I’ll just cross country ski and I do. Sometimes I fall, but not from the chair lift.

Messing up…
My sister wanted to take this painting class and she wanted me to go with her. She can paint, I can’t. I think she wanted me to go so she could make fun of me. I went, she laughed and so did I. I learned that I could have a lot of fun with paints. I don’t have to make beautiful pictures. I can just be messy, creative and open my mind.

Looking back…

I focused on 3 key messages with my own kids. I:

• nagged them about hand written thank you notes
• reminded them that life is short, so be grateful every day
• helped them to understand that the best gift they could give themselves was to earn a living doing something they love

For those of us who are looking for work, I challenge you to find ways to ‘fall down’ and ‘mess up.’ If you need to borrow the paints, just give me a call.

Read this great post at:  http://metrodad.typepad.com/index/2009/07/the-rules-25-life-lessons-for-my-daughter.html