Last night as I was falling asleep I thought of all the different lessons and activities I did when I was a child. Had I stuck to them all these would be the things I can do:
- Paint
- Sculpt
- Play the piano
- Kick ass in Tae Kwan Do
- Speak french fluently
- Play the saxophone
- Be a gymnast
- Swim like Phlepps
- Ride horses and jump
- Be a master yogi
- Speak Italian fluently
It really makes me feel bad looking back on all those things. I struggle always to complete things I have begun and lately I have tried to find the reason why. Or at least find a way to push myself through it and make myself do it! Usually it’s that I get distracted then when I come back and look at the task it just seems like too much so I stop. I sit there thinking I should practice, Book another lesson, do my homework etc. But then I don’t!
At the risk of sounding cliché and annoying I feel like I haven’t really reached my full potential because I didn’t apply myself. What terrifies me really is until now I could not tell you exactly why I have always been like this. Actually that’s not what terrifies me. What terrifies me is that if any of my children start doing the same thing I won’t have an answer about why they are doing it. And I am not sure I will know what to do about it.
I hope my children love something deeply and get devoted to doing it. Anything really is good as long as it’s healthy and useful in some way.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get myself and my children to commit to something and stick to it? Do you have any useful insights as to why I am the way I am?
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I think we should all choose one or 2 things that we really enjoy and stick to it. We want our children to do everything. My daughter is 4, she’s learning Quran, taking Arabic classes because her school doesn’t offer it at this age. Ballet, swimming , gymnastics and tennis. I want her to learn mandarin, do horse back riding , play a musical instrument .. Either a violin or the piano … She’s 4 what am I thinking?
I think choose one out of the whole list and focus on it. For kids ask them what they love doing and why and enrol them ..
Personally I feel sports is great for boys and arts is great for girls.
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Mashallah! But I get where you’re coming from. The only think holding me back from doing the same here is that these classes are not all offered here! ALthough our school is now offering mandarin two days a week. I am soooo tempted!!
Ha, I have this issue myself. I never solved it either, to be honest. I’ve tried, since I was a teen, a little bit of everything: ballet, modern dance, soccer, basketball, track, tennis … eh, the list goes on, and that’s just sports! I always got bored of it quickly, and stopped going to classes/practices by the third one. I tend to get REALLY passionate about a pursuit, immerse myself in it … and then a few weeks later, I’m bored and ready to move on. I think the only thing I’ve ever stayed constant with is reading. I can read all day, everyday. But, that’s not exactly a helpful pursuit in life, lol.
Reading is the most helpful pursuit if we can get up and use what we read to actually do something lol. It is really bad though isn’t it? I always tell my sont o apply himself and it’s me who should apply herself really isn’t it?
The never ending dilema… I swear I think we may be twins in some alter world :P I start so many things… I have had soo many things started as a child… (I don’t know why.. but I HATED my piano lessons.. I think I mayhave hated the teacher).. so my heart was NOT in it. Now I wish I could actually play the grand piano my husband bought.. and is sitting in his fathers ladies living room. I wish I could jmp on a horse and know what the hell I was doing.. I wish I could paint something other then stickmen… I wish I could play the violin my mom pushed mt t take lessons for which I completely blocked out. I wish I could still speak french fluently (I was actually fluent when I lived in Montreal all those years ago).. the list can go on… now I have the same dillema.. how can I get my kids to stick to something without being a complete hypocrit that is forcing them to do that I was incapable of accomplishing in my youth? lol.. looks like I am taking over yor post :p let me shut up.. see.. that is something I am good at.. TALKING :P (not in person though.. I have to really know you to be able to let loose and just blabber away… thank God for the internet :P)