TOVO Tuesday 139

Decision Time

Here′s the thing about decision-making… You need to make decisions to improve them.

Here′s the thing about learning … It is messy at times.

When we combine the fact that our children will need to make decisions to progress with the reality that when they do it will be messy, we are fit for despair.

You cannot make progress without making decisions. (Jim Rohn)

Profound angst blooms on the sidelines every weekend. A mistake. A pinch of chaos. Parent stress. All that stinky sock cleaning for naught. Perhaps a scream of pure anxiety couched as “supporting my child.” More pacing between beach chairs and a few imprudent chirps. Certainly, there is no way that our genetic code be exposed for its imperfections so publicly.

More pacing. More pain.

We can joystick our way hoping to control the chaos. We can eliminate decision-making in order to minimize the errors. Thus, coaches can put out the cones, line up our kids, and impose a false sense of order. Parents feel confident. Parents see order. Pain reliever in place.

Or we can do right by our children.

May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. (Nelson Mandela)

We can embrace that progress is imperfect. We can guide the journey of ups and downs celebrating both. We can honor failure as a stepping stone to success. We can allow our children to scan the environment, make a choice and execute that decision. We can afford our children freedom to learn. Freedom to falter. Freedom to grow.

The choice is ours as parents. The choice is ours as coaches.

Limit autonomy to alleviate our angst.

Ride the rollercoaster and rally behind our children.

It's decision time.