Tag: Confidence

Teaching Confidence – Let Her Be Herself

We took the brand new, bright-blue Micra out one busy evening.

“Do you have someone to stand guard on it through the day and night?” asked Mr Duggal, my driving instructor.

“No,” said I.

“What if there’s a big scratch? What would you do?” he asked.

“What could I do?” said I. “I wouldn’t know who’s done it.”

“So when you take it out today,” said Mr Duggal, “The car may get a few scratches. It’s not any worse than an anonymous someone scratching it,” he said.

I smiled.

“So forget the scratches you might make and drive on,” said Mr Duggal.

 

Teaching confidence doesn’t come of warning your child

Of all the things she could break

When the most important thing is for her to learn.

Nobody ever learnt 2 things at a time.

1. To learn a thing

2. Without a scratch

Important thing isn’t that there never is a fall

But that she knows it’s ok to fall

And gets up when she does.

This helps her loosen up and be herself.

That’s how she builds confidence

And resilience and the zillion other things that give her success and peace.

 

Teaching Confidence – They Know Best

Teaching Confidence – They Know Best

Last week I learnt about teaching confidence from my driving instructor. He was teaching me of crunching gears, stalling 4-wheelers and sliding-backward-down-a-slope cars.

“Will I clear that cart by the left?” I asked.

“You tell me,” said Mr Duggal, looking straight ahead. He’d never once look at me.

“Look out for the cart,” he didn’t shout like dad would.

The car rolled clear of the cart.

“You know best,” said Mr Duggal with the red eye. “And you know right. Have confidence in y’self,” he said.

***

Teaching confidence doesn’t come of cautioning your daughter to death.

It doesn’t come of putting the fear of God into your son.

Teaching confidence comes of letting them do their little things their own way.

It comes of talking about the big things and letting go.

Teaching confidence comes of holding yourself back from pouncing on their every move like a hawk over a mouse – leaving beneath a trembling mouse.

It comes of holding back from rubbing off on them your fears of Can They?

Teaching confidence comes of letting them know that you think They Can.