I want to extend a big congrats to our kids who competed at last weekend’s Grappling Industries Competition (10/29/22), and a thank you to the families who showed up to support!
With only seven kids competing, theJiuJitsuMill managed to take home first place as a team in the kids/teens category overall!
Despite our winning performances, none of our competitors were particularly talented when they started training. However, it is a tenet of our program to assure students from the beginning that talent is of very little importance relative to smart and hard work, determination, and consistency over time.
The notion that skill and success do not come naturally, and instead are cultivated through concerted effort, is an important principle for kids to learn from an early age.
Too often are children and teens ready to quit something that before attempting, they were eager to do and learn, when after only one or two attempts they are unsuccessful. They think that anybody who can do what they can not was simply born with the ability, and they might as well move on to something else that comes more naturally.
It’s important in these circumstances that we don’t lower the bar. Instead, we need to reassure our kids that those folks who can do what they can not were once in our kids shoes too. But regardless how difficult a task is at first, our kids can achieve whatever they want with consistent effort.
When a child is naturally good at something, praise them for their skill but let them know that unless they nurture it with hard work, there will always be a less talented child who’s willing to work harder, who will be eager and able to pass them in line.