I wanted to post a lesson I shared with the kids last week that may benefit from some reinforcement at home.  This message is for kids, but I certainly find it to be a great inspirational reminder for my own life.  Here it is:

There
may be a time in school where you encounter some obstacles. These obstacles can
come in the form of difficulty learning; maybe math doesn’t come easy to you,
or, maybe it’s reading. It’s different for everyone. Some kids – things come
really quick. For others, it takes a little time.

 The
mistake that kids make when things don’t come easy is they assume because it’s
difficult – it must mean they can’t do it, or, they aren’t smart. NOTHING COULD
BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH!

 Think
about this; George Washington had trouble spelling = did that mean he wasn’t
smart? Thomas Edison had dyslexia = did that mean he wasn’t smart?

 Just
because things are difficult doesn’t mean you can’t do it. Speaking of Thomas
Edison – it took him over 1,000 tries to invent the light bulb! Did that mean
he couldn’t do it?
  Obviously it didn’t
mean that.

 If you
want to do well in school this year – when you run into challenges – you have
to have the attitude of the Pump Handle;

 Many
famers still use pump handles these days to get water out of the ground for
their crops and animals.
  I’m sure you’ve
all seen a pump handle.
  The thing about
a pump handle is that you never know where the water is?
  Is the water deep in the ground, or is it
near the top.
  Because you can’t see into
the ground – you have no way of knowing where the water is – BUT YOU KNOW IT’S
THERE! So, what do you do?
  You just keep
pumping!

 This
is the exact same attitude you need to have in order to overcome
obstacles!
    A farmer pumps the handle
because he knows there is water down there.
 
Overcoming obstacles begins with believing you have the ability!   Once you realize you have the ability – then
you just start pumping.
  You start giving
it your best.
  Sometime it takes a few
pumps – sometimes it takes more. But you must be fully convinced that you can
do it!
  If you don’t believe that –
you’ll give up and stop trying.