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What My 1 Year-Old Son Taught Me About Procrastination
Fear, Failure, Falling, and How We Should Think About Achievement
My son recently turned 1 year old, and like many who reach that age, he has learned to walk. I vaguely remember watching my daughter (who is now 4) do the same thing a few years ago, but this time around I made it a point to pay particular attention to the process — because it fascinates me.
What fascinates me is that it’s crazy that a child can learn to walk at that young of an age. I mean, think about it: a 1 year-old can’t really communicate — so talking them through the process is mostly out of the question. And even if we could communicate with them — try to tell the child how to walk — what would we even say? By the time we’re parents, we’ve been walking for so long, we do it mostly without thinking. So there’s not much we could give in the way of guidance. Basically, the child is on their own to figure it out, with adults standing by to help the child up when he or she falls. And yet, they try, fail, and eventually, succeed.
When the child first learns to walk, they do it poorly at first, like my son did. They take a few steps (at best) and then fall clumsily. But they get up and keep doing it. They aren’t daunted by immediate, consistent, and sometimes painful failure. And because of…
