THE WINNING EDGE

What do Walt Disney, Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, JK Rowling and Steve Jobs all have in common? They all bombed “big time” before becoming MEGA successful. Walt Disney was fired because his boss felt he lacked imagination, can you imagine that? Oprah Winfrey was sexually abused and became pregnant at 14. Tyler Perry was homeless, JK Rowlings was on welfare, and Steve Jobs was fired from the company he built. These are just a few people that could’ve easily thrown in the towel who now proudly share their struggles along the pathway to success.

Did you know, it’s impossible to fail unless you “quit”? You see, so many people fall into the default mode of giving up when things get tough. They don’t understand that anything of value, you’re going to have to fight for. Looking at all of the Disney Theme Parks, what if Walt had chosen to believe he lacked imagination? As you eagerly await the latest Apple products, what if Steve had fallen into despair after getting the boot from his own team? Look at all the great things we would’ve missed out on. Well, we don’t just get to a place of tenacity because we were born with a great attitude. No, this is a skill that for most, must be taught and worked on. If you can develop this mindset early, you will have a clear advantage over the competition. It’s important to grasp this valuable Life Skill as early as possible because our lives are measured in time. If we’re not taking advantage of time, we’re wasting time. Unfortunately, most of us figure this out later than sooner, if we figure it out at all, that is. So how can we as parents assist our children in gaining the upper hand over managing a “no quit” mindset and making the most of the time they have on this earth?

Teach them how to work through the difficulties. This is one of the most important traits you can teach a child. When our babies begin to pull themselves up and take those first steps, we applaud, celebrate and brag on them. Can you imagine if they fell down and we scooped them up and said, “don’t worry sweetheart, Mommies never going to make you do that again.” No, we get them right back up so they can try again and again until they have mastered walking. Why? Because we know walking is an essential function that our children need. Even if our children have a disability, we search out ways to give them the best mobility possible. Children need to know there are things that are going to be hard but just like we learned to walk, we can learn to conquer every challenge.
Teach them the power of a winning mindset. One of the keys to overcoming hardship is to believe that you can. Society as a whole has developed a “Can’t Do” attitude. Here’s a secret, kids don’t know they can’t do something until someone tells them they can’t. On their own, children are pretty fearless. It’s not until they hear “you can’t” multiple times that they begin to believe it. Teaching children to be respectful of dangers rather thaN fearful will help them develop a “Can Do” mentality. When challenges come their way, the first thought will be, “how” I can do it not “if” I can.
Guard who your kids spend time with. Did you know experts have shown that we are the sum of the 5 people we spend the most time with? Typically, you will earn within $10,000 of your closest friends. That should make you pick your friends a little more closely. Everyone wants to be liked but it’s important who you choose to invite into your inner circle. This is something that will become extremely important in middle school. It’s important that your children develop relationships with people that have a good attitude, are goal orientated, are respectful and supportive of their dreams. You don’t need to have a lot of friends if you’ve got one or two good ones that believe in you.
Get them involved with activities/sports that build mental and physical strength. Why do we need a village? It’s not easy bringing up strong, positive kids in a negative, disrespectful world. You need to surround them with as much hope as possible. Supportive family and friends, great coaches and mentors, activities that build strength and confidence. All of these things are needed and then some. Try to draw water from as many wells as possible to give your children the winning edge.

Teaching children to debunk the “quitters” mindset is one of the best things you can do to help them become successful individuals. Life is going to be hard. It’s going to be hard to discipline yourself to do things you’d rather not do. It’s going to be hard to study a subject that’s difficult. It’s hard to turn off the video games and practice your sport. It’s hard not being a part of a poplar group. What’s even harder, is failing your test or not passing a grade because you didn’t study and ask for help. It’s harder not to make a team or watch everyone else become better than you because you didn’t practice. It’s hard to be a part of a group when you can’t be yourself because you’re afraid they’ll turn on you. Life is going to be hard but we’ve got to teach our children to weigh the short term vs. long term challenges. In doing so, we’ll give our kids the tools they need to be successful and make the most of the time they are given.

Elevate Martial Arts is committed to facilitating; strong, confident, success orientated children, youth and families. Follow us on FB and IG @elevatemalife