This certainly doesn't look good.
Have you ever heard the phrase “shake the dirt off of your shoulders“? Had you heard about it prior to Jay-Z? Me either, but I’m not going to let that get in the way of a really good lesson.
The origin of this term comes from a story in which a donkey falls into a well and cannot get out. The farmer tries to get the donkey out by rope, unsuccessful in his attempt. He decides, instead, to just give up and bury the donkey in the well. As the farmer begins filling the hole with dirt, the donkey becomes depressed, realizing that all of the dirt on his shoulders and back were going to eventually bury him. He then thought of an idea: I can just shake it off and step up. Therefore, he could just die by doing nothing and getting buried, or shake the dirt off his shoulders and step up to the occasion. So when you have a problem, will you shake it off and step up or be buried?
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I’ve told this story to my boys a number of times already over the years and it usually has a positive effect but maybe I should give it a rest for a while and call on it again in a few years… it’s too powerful to dilute through abuse and overuse.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
hey brent – i love that you’re doing this and I love the 2 posts so far. i will copy all your stories and use them with my kids. thank you for parenting my children all the way from ga. you should make this a book.
hi kajal, thanks for the kind words… I tried this once a few years back and just didn’t stick with it. Hopefully I can stick with it this time and have it be useful for these kids at some point.