Monday, January 25, 2010

Starting to expect things...

Having told you a little of what is going on in my life, I want to write a little about why I wanted to create this blog.

I want to help other people look positively toward the future, to visualize their goals, and to work to attain them. In doing this I want to help myself complete new goals that I have set for myself, holding myself accountable.

When my children were small I used to ask them what they wanted to be when they grew up. After they told me, I encouraged whatever it was. I would take them to the library for books on that subject. I would talk about how this skill or another skill that they possessed would help them when they were doing that career. I had the EXPECTATION that they would be successful. It didn’t matter if they changed their minds, my purpose was always the same, to be their cheerleader, and to try to help them gain the skills they would need as an adult in any capacity – and in whatever career they would choose.

One of my children had a desire to be an astronaut. I remember driving a carpool and in the car were some of the coolest kids from elementary school. One of them asked my son what he wanted be when he grew up. My child unabashedly said that he wanted to be an astronaut. This was something that he had been talking about for a few years. The boy who asked the question scoffed audibly. However, my son was already confident in himself to say such a thing, despite the fact that we rented our house and bought his clothes at Goodwill®, unlike the other boys in the car. Today, with a large academic scholarship, my son attends a prestigious university learning about something he loves. It is NOT something that will take him into space, but it is something HE chose because it was something he loved, and he wasn’t afraid to choose it.

I like to think that my EXPECATIONS for my son allowed him to dream of his own big expectations.

Do you have expectations for yourself or your loved ones? Can you help facilitate them? You might say, “I expect good grades!” But do you do anything to help make that happen? Do you allow the student to have a quiet period and a place to study? Making sure you are available to answer questions if they have any? Even if your work schedule doesn’t allow you to see them during the week, do you spend a short time on the weekend sitting together looking over those boring school papers? These are important to your expectation so you should show that by showing interest.

If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right. – Henry Ford

No comments:

Post a Comment