Internalizing ‘not success’

So, I won’t lie.this weeks competition was a bit of a disappointment for many. I witnessed strange things happen to the extent of a wizard curse! (Yes, I have watched one too many “Wizards of Waverly Place”.

I watched my girls this weekend go out and give it all they got. But in the end, their efforts (along with their teams) fell shorter than expected. And I dare say, not by faults of their own, per se…..

It was just a weird weekend.

So, my question is this….. How do you deal with major disappointment?

I have seen days where the kids want to shout out names of the people they thought brought the dance down. And I have seen days where my own kids didn’t do their best and could have been named.

My goal for my kids is to realize that they are on a team and that things will happen that are out of their control. And as a result, they are to extend kindness.

This weekend, I drove my girls home; each having their own sad face. I told them that though they were disappointed; there will be more opportunities.

I asked them to imagine the Olympic athlete, who sacrificed their everyday life for the love of their sport. They were stellar athletes to get to the Olympics. I told them I have seen MANY an athlete screw up on their one and ONLY chance to excel. And it is heartbreaking.

To excel is divine. To be Acknowledged for it is amazing. To falter at it is human.

We cannot be perfect all the time. And sometimes our perfection isn’t witnessed. But we have to know within ourselves that we have the ability. And some days that just has to be enough.

I don’t care what the judges say. I don’t need a judge to be proud of the effort my children make. They have made many sacrifices along the way, and if they show up to competition and their routine is ‘off’…. I will think no less of them. I will simply wait for the next opportunity and keep my fingers crossed. And if it isn’t perfection…… I will keep my arms wide open.

Happy Monday