Leaning Into Your Own Potential
Inclinarse hacia tu propio potencial
A student reflects on the temptation to live through a talented child's achievements, and suggests that pursuing one's own gifts can ease the pressure placed on a child to be perfect.
Leaning Into Your Own Potential
A student reflects on the temptation to live through a talented child's achievements, and suggests that pursuing one's own gifts can ease the pressure placed on a child to be perfect.
My understanding is that your child is a really talented kid, kind of exceptional. And so it's really, really tempting to live through that, and for him to do something well or perfectly is going to be especially tempting. Super talented kids don't come out of nowhere. My guess is that you also have that kind of talent and potential, and that if you lean into your own talent and potential, it will be less tempting to have those moments where you're frustrated with him making a mistake.
It's also really understandable and normal. I totally relate. There were times where I saw my daughter trying to do something, and she was doing something really awesome, and all I could do was get into my critical mind. I tried to hide it from her, and I hope I did, but it was really intense.
When you're a parent, so much of your energy has to go into your child. It's hard to carve out the time and energy to lean into your own potential. But I think if you do, it might be easier to let him be imperfect. He's talented, but he's not perfect. If you lean into your own interests, your own development, it eases that pressure. Obviously, he didn't get his talent from nowhere.