This morning my son reminded me of a lesson I taught him. I thought I’d share with you. Joel’s is fond of Sesame Street characters. Elmo and Big Bird are his favorites, but for some reason, he never really paid attention to Cookie Monster. When he did, it was not fun.
My little family took a trip to Sesame Place over the summer. As part of our package, we had breakfast with Joel’s favorite characters and their friends. One look at Cookie Monster—the life-sized Cookie Monster—and Joel lost it. He was scared like we had never seen before. He was so afraid that he wouldn’t walk up the stairs in the dark or walk into a dark room. Somehow Cookie Monster ruined my son’s confidence—he wouldn’t even sleep on his expensive Sesame Street Bed Linens.
One of the days he was stuck on the stairs and wouldn’t move an inch as long as the lights were out and I didn't go with him. Right then and there, I had to teach him how to kill his giant.
Over the next five minutes, I explained and showed Joel how strong he was. We flexed our arms and screamed, “I am strong!” over and over again. It must have been 1000 times. I didn’t say anything about Cookie Monster. I just magnified his perception of his potential. After my coaching session, Joel felt he could conquer the world. And he still does. I have noticed his confidence soar ever since and have sometimes caught him reminding himself of his strength when he faced with something scary.
Here is the lesson: What if, when faced with a giant, we concentrated and explored our strengths instead of focusing on the challenge? What if we realized how strong we are instead of looking at the muscles of the giants in front of us?
The easiest way to kill a giant is to realize that you are in a giant! Don’t let the roar of the enemy distract you from your potential. Pull yourself together and walk in the strength that you already have. Or like I and Joel, scream “I am strong!” until you believe it.
Now go and conquer the world!