Something to Consider
While trying to help my best friend's dog up a flight of stairs, I learned a useful
tip about motivation: Sometimes people are lazy and sometimes they're just afraid.
The dog was terrified of stairs, along with vacuum cleaners, brooms, shovels, gates,
garbage cans, and tape measurers, to name a few. I thought he was being difficult,
when he was actually terrified.
What a different approach I would have taken had I known!
The next time your kids seem resistant, ask yourself if fear is part of the equation. Everyone expects a
little nervousness or anxiety when they have to meet a new relative or perform in front of an audience,
but the truth is that fear can appear anywhere.
Kids afraid to fail in school stop studying. Kids afraid of being rejected stop being
polite. Kids afraid of walking up a flight of stairs bite. (Maybe that was just my
friend's dog.)
Whatever the situation, consider that your kids might not be lazy or
difficult. They might be scared. With this knowledge, your approach will fit the
facts and work out better in the end.
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