Saturday, September 14, 2013

Fear keeps me from growing

"The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." 

"Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive." 

 - Elbert Hubbard 

Want more of Elbert's quotes check out
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/author/e/elbert_hubbard.html

I did not understand how I was raised in fear based thinking until I was in counseling.  Recently, I read an article about how education in the last 40 years changed from threatening children with a dunce cap, an 'F', or swats to encouraging children to grow through cooperation, encouragement, and enhancing strengths.  I was raised more than 40 years ago.  Every mistake was pointed out as evidence of my stupidity and one of the names I was called was Ding-a-ling.  Often I was lectured with the beginning statement, "What can we do so that you never make this mistake again?"  Any errors needed to be eradicated in an effort to 'make me' a better person.  The possibility that I was a good kid to begin with was simply not considered.  

 I recognized somewhere along the line that type of thinking was counter productive.  I just didn't know anything else.  My photography helped me express my idea that imperfect is beautiful, I called it 'Imperfect beauty.'  Nature glories in imperfections yet people try to get the Perfect Picture without flaws.  I admire them but decided that imperfection has a beauty all its own. 












2 comments:

mulderfan said...

When I taught preteens and teens, I used to tell them, "A mistake is only a mistake if you don't correct it, learn from it, and move on."

Instead of deducting marks, I gave them the option of correcting their work and resubmitting it. Some couldn't be bothered, or said it wasn't fair. Others saw it as a golden opportunity and thanked me.

Ruth said...

mulderfan, I like your definition of a mistake. Thanks.