08/05/2023
FOUR INSPIRATIONAL LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY DAUGHTER
I just learned some motivational lessons from one of my kids, Khadeejah, who is just one year and 3 months. She loves clamping onto a certain chair in our living room to see through the window. She can't clamp this chair herself, but with the help of her mum or other people, she can get down herself.
This morning, I was in the living room watching her mum put her on the chair. She deliberately got down from the chair after a few moments and requested her mum to return her to the chair. Her mother ignored her request, and she went to try clamping it herself. When she attempted it the first time, she failed. She tried several times but failed. Her mum just told her she could do it, and asked her to push on. Guess what? She tried it and succeeded this time.
The moment she clamped on the chair, my girl's mood completely changed, and she transformed into a completely different person. She jumped, laughed, and rolled on the chair with happiness, as a celebration of her accomplishment. In celebration of her small success, she was very excited and confident. Another surprising thing I noticed was that after the first trial, she kept clamping the chair and getting down several times until she could fall asleep.
LIFE LESSONS
1. Success is a game of courage: Do your best to overcome difficulties and challenges in your life on your own, and never give up until you achieve your goals. She made the first attempt herself and followed it up with several more attempts until she succeeded.
2. Surround yourself with positive people: Always remember that you are the reflection of the four top people in your life. If you surround yourself with positive people, you will achieve excellent results and vice versa. Also, offer positive advice and support to anyone trying to climb the success ladder. Her mother's voice forces her to move on and gives her more energy to try hard.
3. Always celebrate your every small success. No matter how small it looks, success is success. In some cases, just a small breakthrough opens the door to a landmark achievement. Celebrating your small success will motivate you to push for more breakthroughs. My daughter, in her very childlike ways, celebrated herself for clamping the chair by jumping several times, laughing, rolling, and more.
4. The most difficult step is the first step. Stop procrastinating. Take the first step and follow it up. The most challenging task is the first. After the initial breakthrough, subsequent moves become easier. My girl clamps the chair several times after mastering the art of clamping a chair. This reminds me of the Edward Thorndike experiment on habit formation in 1898, as James Clear narrated it in "Atomic Habits". I recommend the book if you haven't read it.
Sometimes, our kids can teach us amazing lessons!
Bashir Ademola Yusuf
Entrepreneur
