Fearless: "I Can Do it"
By Steve Gahagen
I have 3-year-old identical twin grandsons who live in Miami. It is a terrible place to have to visit in the dead of winter, but someone has to do it.
I recently took them to the pool. Elliot and Silas constantly wanted to run and jump in. Silas is particularly daring. He thinks he can do anything. He is fearless, which can be of concern when it comes to jumping into water. He’s taking swimming lessons, but his confidence is way above his competence as a swimmer - the frighting dimension of being a parent.
Outside of being reckless, we want kids and young people to be fearless, to have an “I can do it” spirit. But often as we grow older, fear begins to replace fearlessness and we become hesitant and cautious, afraid to attempt too much because we fear we might fail. Maybe we’ve been told we can’t too many times or we haven’t had the opportunity to flourish in our gifted areas.
I think middle school can be particularly cruel. I’ve not met many adults who would say middle school was an epic moment in their life. Kids still enter middle school thinking they can - even if it’s being a professional athlete. Because middle school is often a tipping point in a young person’s life, we at Play to Your Strengths love to be in those spaces.
Discovering and playing to our strengths can help us maintain an inborn gift of fearlessness. Understanding our talents and that we have something to bring can fill us with confidence. A young person seeing that they can make a difference adds a sense of value to their life. Having the opportunity to experiment in areas of our strengths, builds successes that help us become more courageous and fearless in attempting something new. There is a well-known Bible story about a boy David who took down a giant. It was shocking to everyone else but not to David. Why? Because he had already fought a lion and a bear to protect his sheep as a shepherd. The giant was merely the next step. Helping kids experience and celebrate real success is important.
At the end of life, most of our regrets are not connected to the mistakes we made but the things we didn’t attempt.
Be fearless. Live with courage and boldness. Help a young person do the same.
Question to Consider:
Name three things that might diminish our sense of fearlessness as we grow older.
Who do you know that lives with a sense of courage and fearlessness? What do you think empowers them to do that?
How can a young person playing to their strengths increase their willingness to take risks and try new things?
How can you leverage your strengths to have a healthy sense of fearlessness?