I’m beginning to think that my son is a natural competitor. When you put him in a competition, he puts his heart and soul into doing the best job he can do. It doesn’t matter if he’s competing against his sister with everyday mundane tasks or if he’s in karate class or in a school yard jumping contest….my boy really loves the feeling of winning.
Sometimes I wonder where this need to strive to be the best comes from. We certainly do not push him to think he has to win. We just like him trying his hardest, and boy…when he sets his mind to something, watch out! I just wish I could encourage him to feel the same way about his school work than he does with physical contests.
Yesterday, I picked him up from Karate camp, and he very proudly showed me two medals he was wearing around his neck from various competitions. He was so proud to show them to me, but even better was when he took one of the medals from around his neck and gave it to his sister. I nearly fell over with pride, because seeing him share and give up one of his beloved medals showed me that he is learning something more precious than winning. He is learning how to care about others. Hallelujah! It’s about time! Now if I can only get him to learn how to lose! That is a much steeper mountain to climb.
My song of the day is Tina Turner’s ’80′s hit “The Best.” Being your best can mean so many different things, but for my son, it is all about growing. Being his best is an evolving process, and I am happy to say that I am seeing some maturity in his recent actions. Click HERE to hear Tina Turner sing her heart out, and may we all use it as a reminder to be the best we can be as we set out on this day ahead.