During this time where I am working from home, I am trying to focus on a growth mindset for me personally. In addition to working from home, I am homeschooling my three littles and enjoying my three older children being at home, even though I wish it was under different circumstances. While everything we are ALL going through is absolutely not ideal, I refuse to let the situations at hand define me. I am still working out, working on professional development goals and trying to be a positive light for those I am around and have contact with. This old dog is still working on new tricks for sure.
I recently read an article in Recreation Management (February 2020), by Emily Tipping, where she talked about old dogs learning new tricks. I loved her articles because it immediately made me think about myself and my comfort with learning new skills. In her article, she points out that old dogs and new tricks is really metaphorical. It’s about people being set in our ways and comfortable with habits, whether at home or work. However, if we never break out of doing things the same way we limit our potential for growth. We all get comfortable doing things we are good at and we don’t want to look foolish, so sometimes we are reluctant to step outside our comfort zones. I am not an artistic person. My love of math allows me to draw near perfect figures but as far as drawing, singing, performing or anything in fine or performing arts, I usually leave that to my wonderfully talented daughters. However, this semester at Western Wyoming Community College, where work, I took ceramics. I wouldn’t call my pieces masterpieces by any means but I am proud of them and I am creative and having a blast. Finally, I don’t sing well even though I sing nursery rhymes to my children and I sing in the shower, but I support the skills my children do have and encourage them to try new things as well.
I played and coached college athletics and am in pretty decent shape. I played basketball, volleyball, fastpitch and love running and lifting. Therefore, of course, my children love soccer, gymnastics, cheer, singing and art. So, what did I do? I stepped out of my comfort zone. I learned what I could about soccer (beyond U12 where I had coached my children when they were little), and I coached my daughter through high school/club and I am helping at our college. I became a certified gymnastics coaching, studying, taking exams and learning how to spot for stunts and what to look for to fine tune routines and skills. I am not a cheer leader, but I am working with our Cheer Club at the college and learning alot.
Back to the idea of “old dogs”. I have two wonderful, old dogs in my house. They are 16 and 14 years of age. Sometimes however, you wouldn’t know it. The blind one has no teeth and her back legs work sometimes, yet she will bark like crazy to let a passerby know just how tough she (thinks she) is. The 14 year old sleeps alongside his sister dog most of the day, but the minute I start to work out, he grabs his chew toy and is underfoot joining me. They inspire me because they have made up their minds that they still have plenty they CAN do even if they do have some limitations. Like them I may be a bit older than some. I am definitely the oldest mom in kindergarten. Many of the kindergarten parents were students of mine when I was their principal in junior high years ago. However, I recently saw a sign that I fell in love with. It read, “I am not in my fifties. I am in my forties with shipping and handling added in.” I like that. I may indeed be a bit slower than I used to be and a bit more tired and sore after some of my workouts, but I am still going strong, and trying new things. I encourage you all to find something new to try, to challenge yourself, not just in the midst of this pandemic, but each and every day that you have the opportunity to do so, and don’t be afraid to fail some of the time.
That’s how we get better. Be like my old blind dog and show ‘em what you got (her bark), not what you don’t have (her back legs). Don’t get stuck-old or young, find a new trick, find a new things. You got this!
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