The 'mind hack' I learnt at the playground

The trouble with encouraging your kids to believe they can do anything is you can find yourself being equally encouraged!

I’ve never had a liking for those big tunnel slides. Such a long tunnel with so little space I find the thought of - claustrophobic.

But James took to one like a duck to water recently on our Sunny Coast holiday. Navigating the climb all the way to the top and then down he came. On repeat. He loved it! And hadn’t been on one anything close to that size before.

Then there it was… The suggestion was made that Mummy have a go!

Which I initially dismissed, but with his persistently determined nature - I could tell it wasn’t going to go away.

He kept at it - telling me I could do it and that it wouldn’t be that scary.

How could I say no? :)

So up we went!

I was right on his heels.

He kept encouraging me and checking on me - you okay Mummy?

I will be if I don’t have to think about it! - I thought to myself.

We got to the top (after passing a kid on her way back down…) and there was a moment just before he went down the chute ahead of me, that I knew I just had to do it without even thinking about it. Not for a second.

I could sense my mind was wanting to speak up and I didn’t let it. I focused all my attention on just following each step of James’, not what was ahead.

It felt like I’d ‘short-circuited’ my mind by not giving it an opportunity to freak out.

And down I went!!!

With my little encourager waiting for me at the bottom :)

And you know what? It wasn’t so bad after all. Not in the slightest!

Doesn’t mean I’ll go looking for a bigger one anytime soon - but now I know I can.

And there was something in that - what felt like a ‘mind hack’ - about not letting it go there, that I took away from that playground.

I value my mind and its strength enormously, but on occasion - maybe not letting it talk us into or out of something can be helpful.

It only needs a split second to seconder the situation!

At James’ age - his mind was focused on the joy and thrill of the slide - that’s the only thing he was giving his attention to.

But as we age and experience more of life - perhaps we have to find a few work arounds, and I found this one that day. It got me down the big tunnel slide, proud of myself, and of my son for encouraging me to do it.

There were a couple of Mums down the bottom saying well done, and commending me for what I’d just done - because they said they wouldn’t have :)

Playgrounds. Children. So much we can learn from them!