Maybe you have the mistaken belief that to be of value anything you do or create needs to provide a monetary return.<\/p>\n
There are many reasons we stop ourselves from trying something new.<\/p>\n
Trying Something New<\/i><\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until a wise friend who, knowing my struggle, said to me, \u201cWhy would you expect to be good at something you\u2019ve never tried?\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
With that simple question I suddenly felt I had been set free. I felt as if I\u2019d been given permission to just experience.<\/b><\/p>\n
It became clear to me that I had been limiting my experiences and my growth, because of fear.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n And a question formed in my mind.<\/p>\n What if I gave myself permission to experience or try something new just for the sake of having the experience?<\/b><\/p>\n I began to recognize that my children had been showing me those very examples for many years.<\/p>\n Learning Russian<\/i><\/p>\n My youngest daughter, a college freshmen, was recently planning her second semester classes. We were visiting on the phone when she asked,<\/p>\n \u201cWhat would you think if I take a Russian class next semester?\u201d<\/p>\n Though the question caught me off-guard, I responded first with, \u201cI think that is great!\u201d<\/p>\n But then I began to question.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I wanted to be an encouraging, supportive mom, yet I worried about what might happen to her.<\/p>\n -What if she started the class and it was too hard?<\/p>\n -What if she eventually wanted to drop the class?<\/p>\n -If she dropped the 4-credit class, how would she pick up the credits she needed to maintain her scholarship?<\/p>\n -Why does a Psychology Major need to learn Russian?<\/p>\n -What if taking time for that class took her away from classes she should be taking?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n -Did she know that Russian doesn\u2019t use the same alphabet?<\/p>\n -What was she thinking?<\/p>\n These thoughts and more were running through my head when I blurted out something less than supportive.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe you should have a plan B, in case it doesn\u2019t work out.\u201d<\/p>\n So much for encouraging my child!<\/p>\n Fast Forward<\/i><\/p>\n Fast forward a few months.<\/p>\n
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