Lessons from a 5 year old

I took the kids to the beach on the Coast Guard base this afternoon. As I sat in my chair under my umbrella, I watched Jake trying over and over to catch the minnows that kept swimming by him. He worked at it tirelessly, never doubting that he would catch them if he could only dip the bucket into the water just right. He believed that he could do it. Why would he believe otherwise? He kept at it for about 15 or 20 minutes until something else grabbed his attention. But he didn't give up....he had faith that he would catch those little buggers sooner or later.

It took me back to the back yard of my friend Meredith in Houston in the early 80s. She and I were certain that we could learn to fly if we practiced enough. We set up a step stool and jumped off it over and over and over, convinced that we were getting closer to actually flying each time we jumped. We tried various materials on our arms to help us fly. We tried different step stools. We tried different types of shoes. We must have jumped a hundred times. We truly believed that if we jumped up high enough, the wind would lift us up to the clouds.

Watching Jake's perseverance, unwavering confidence and positive attitude today put a huge smile on my face. Isn't it amazing that a five year old can remind you of such a fundamental life lesson by simply trying to catch a few fish? You may not actually ever scoop up those minnows, and you will probably never take flight by jumping off a stepstool, but it sure doesn't hurt to believe in yourself and to keep trying.