Childlike Determination

Image credit: Walmart

“Get back here,” I yelled. “You gotta catch me first,” he cheekily replied. I truly didn’t know how much more of this I could take. This eight-year-old boy that I was babysitting had been attempting to cross the full length of the monkey bars at the playground for the past two hours. Within this time, he had acquired two scraped knees, one skinned elbow, and three splinters. I was utterly exasperated. I had no idea how I was going to explain the vast number of his injuries to his mother, but there was no stopping him. “Why don’t we try again some other time” I asked, with a hint of exhaustion in my voice. He exuberantly replied, “No I’m good, thanks!”

I didn’t understand. He had been continuously hurt through his various attempts, yet the one thing that remained unscathed was his determination. I watched another 20 minutes go by with no success. I was tempted to tell him that he had tried enough for the day, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had already tried to subtly discourage him once, and that’s when the guilt began to sink in. When I was his age and I found myself struggling, my parents would encourage me with phrases such as, “Good effort!”, “Nice job!”, or “You’re almost there!” They constantly encouraged me to keep trying. They praised my persistence, which boosted my confidence and ultimately led to my success. So instead of putting this little boy down, I yelled. “Don’t give up. I know you’re going to make it across those bars this time!”

The instant I spoke those words, his eyes lit up and a large grin formed on his face, extending from ear to ear. He then mounted the ladder and hesitantly extended his arm towards the first bar. He looked back at me, and I gave him a reassuring nod of approval. Once he had successfully grabbed the first bar, he reached for the second, third, and fourth. He did this until he was at the end of the monkey bars. When he dismounted the ladder at the end, he did a little victory dance while chanting. “Go me, I did it! Oh yeah. I’m awesome!” In this moment I knew I had done the right thing. As we walked him back inside I asked him, “Why did you keep trying even though  you had gotten hurt so many times before?” His hopeful, youthful face turned towards me, and he said, “I just really wanted to do it and I did!” In the most innocent and admirable way, quitting was not an available option for this young boy.

I went home that night and thought about what this little boy had told me. It was amazing because despite the obstacles that were in his way, he persisted. He knew that crossing the monkey bars wouldn’t be an easy feat, but not giving up was his first step towards success. And although I was there to nurture this little boy, he unintentionally gave me something to aspire to. As we get older and reach for more difficult goals, it can become very easy to feel discouraged when we don’t receive immediate gratification. We understand the value of persistence, but it feels harder to align ourselves with this virtue. Although this little boy’s goal of making it across the monkey bars may not be comparable to the goals that we as young adults have set for ourselves, his childlike determination and hope for success are a mindset we could benefit from adopting.