16th Mindful Monday Word-Possibilities
The word possibilities, it has so many, possibilities! When I think of the word “Possibilities” it makes me think of things that are available to me, to you and to our children. If you have raised children or are raising them today, think about how many times you have said to them, “You can do it?” We say this because we think and feel that they can, that it is possible! With all my heart, I do feel that is a true statement. When you think you can, you at least try. If you fail, you then know. It’s how we learn and how we grow into a better version of oneself. There is a lesson in both, success and in failure, we need to embrace any possibilities. While it isn’t always an easy thing to do, but, if you think that a task, a project or even a conversation isn’t going to be the best, we still need to approach them so we know if it works or not. If it does, hurray! If not, try to learn what the lesson is from it and be sure to try again. This thought hasn’t been easy, sometimes there is fear behind us which keeps us back. I get that. But, one thing I’ve learned is that once you approach whatever is holding you back, the doors open. My husband Joe and I have often said, “at least we tried, and now we know” even if the outcome wasn’t the one we had hoped for, the possibility was there and now we know. Whether possibilities presented to us, or we need to open doors to find the, they surround us, each and every day.
If you’re trying to reinforce or to teach your child the word possibilities, one of the nine Characters of Character is our character Do’er Duck. The message from this character is to Never Give Up, even if it’s a difficult task. Our character Warm-Hearted Walrus believes in being kind, and to be encouraging. When your child is encouraged and feels confident, the possibilities are endless.
Be encouraging. Encouragement helps us to try harder or even to try new things!
Allow failure. Hard to understand at times, but, failure helps us to grow and learn more about what we failed at, how we failed and the why we failed. There is now room for improvement.
Celebrate the successes. Celebrate! Not when you’ve reached your goal or vision, but, all the steps you take to get there. Small victories still add up to a victory, right!
Present new ways to accomplish all possibilities. Not everything is black and white. Sometimes we need to look outside the box, find new ideas, new ways to accomplish our goal.
Find solutions. Again, thinking differently often times helps us find the answer.
THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS!! Doesn’t that just make your heart warm and inspired? While you may think the answer is just, NO, many times it’s just no, not just now. All through our life there are possibilities. One needs to be aware and open to them. To encourage a child at an early age will allow them to explore new possibilities. A child might think that they want to see or do one thing when they grow up, when in reality, life may take them on a different journey, or they are much better at something else. Allow your children to explore new possibilities. Presenting new possibilities before a child helps them to make choices. Now, choices, hmmm….they will learn to make better choices along the road in life because they remember what worked and what didn’t work after exploring the different possibilities! I’ve said it a million times, “Don’t burst my bubble” meaning, don’t take away my hope, there are always possibilities, endless possibilities at that. For an outsider looking in however, they may not see the same possibilities that we do. None the less, they are there for the taking. Whether you dig for them or they are presented to you, they are there. Reach for them!
In the graphic on top of this blog post, there are a group of girls, these are a Girl Scout Troop which I painted Self-Esteem Elephant with. We started out talking about self-esteem, what we liked about who we are, and what we like to do. This opened up a discussion and brought out the best in the girls. They painted with confidence and the thoughts of what they are good at and the possibilities of what they can do! Another Girl Scout Troop and I discussed respect and then painted Respectful Rabbit. This taught them that this trait is learned, and that we need to respect our self before we can respect others. This gives us a firm foundation of who we are. The little boy with Friendship Frog on his head thought it wasn’t possible to make a new friend…’Nonsense I said! The timing was actually perfect this morning in class as I introduced myself there was a fly. I said, “oh look, Friendship Frog loves flies” I bet it’s looking for a new friend, too. The boys actually named the fly, Friendly Fly and it brought them together as a group. We then discussed friends, and what friends can do together! We hope you’ll encourage your own children to reach for the stars, to encourage them and to show them that there are so many possibilities which surround them. Print out the above Warm-Hearted Walrus character and let your child color this. Ask them to write about their dreams, allow them to use their imaginations. Their dreams may change along the way, but, please, remember, THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.
Characters of Character is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization whose mission is to provide a firm foundation for children to establish strong civic values. Your support is appreciated. Have you visited our website to learn about our projects for the Children’s Hospitals? How about our Wish List? Would you like to be a Sponsor for our Superhero activity boxes donated to the children’s hospitals, or, do you know someone who would? The world only become a better place when we work together. We appreciate you.
TELL me and I forget, TEACH me and I remember, INVOLVE me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin