Over the years, as I've worked with teaching and coaching children, I've learned how mental blocks create difficulty in achieving goals. Often, the anticipation of difficulty causes a concern that can undermine progress. Now, I'm not a psychologist, but when one listens to children, or our own inner fears, we can see a problem with negative "self-talk". Many times it is the little thought that seems to warn "This is going to be hard!"
I've learned to watch for such signs in the children I've taught, and many times the negative thought is verbalized, "This is hard!". That's when I feel I should get down on the child's level, smile big, and correct their thinking to an empowered perspective "Digging a ditch is hard, and no matter how many times you have to do it, it's still going to be hard. But learning to do this is challenging, not hard. When something is challenging you can develop skills that will help make it easier. Just as spoons-playing is the easiest thing I know how to do, and for you just starting out, it is challenging. But I promise that if you continue to try, and not quit, you will develop skills, and before long, you will master spoons-playing (or whatever you are learning to do.)"
I feel that if I can help them make an accurate evaluation of whether something is truly HARD, or simply CHALLENGING, and then help them learn to be determined to meet challenges, it can help them in their future endeavors.
Empowering children has been my passion for many years, and I particularly enjoy that I can use music as a catalist for learning, motivation and fun. And using the right music that makes learning fun is like sprinkling magic can-do dust over the challenge.
