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Courage: Letter to Parents

Dear Parents,

Courage is one of the qualities that we want to see in our children.  Being willing to try new things and to know how to cope with our fears is very different that not being scared.  All of us feel scared and nervous from time to time.  But when those fears are based on our imagination or worry about what might happen, that is quite different than when there are real dangers. 

In our school we see it quite often that when a child comes in to try a new class – even if they want to be there the fear of the group or new situation overcomes them.  We are able to help them overcome that and act in a safe and courageous way.  This month we will be talking to our students about courage the following ways.  If you would like your child to have more courage why not try Balanced Life Skills Martial Arts.  We build courage in children and adults.

The definitions we will use for courage this month are:

Young students: “I feel brave!
Older students, teens and adults: Courage is the willingness to face fears and challenges with determination.

During the four weeks of September we will be discussing the following:

Week 1: Courage defined. What does courage mean?  What are people scared of?
Week 2: Taking healthy risks: How can I use courage to try new things and meet new people?
Week 3: Courage and Values:  How can I use courage to stand up for what I think is right and fair?
Week 4: Keeping control:  How can I calm myself down and make good decisions?

If you would like more information please feel free to call us and watch for discussions on this website. Take time this month to think about the times you have shown courage even when times were scary.  Share these experiences with your children in an age appropriate manner and they will see how strength of character has served you.

Thanks to all families in our community who continue to support the practice of Life, Art and Peace.

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When we are not confident

Last night in our classes I talked to the students about how we talk to ourselves when we are not feeling confident. So many times when we are not feeling confident is when we are going into a new situation of something we do not know what to expect, trying something new, maybe a test or a challenge at work that seems insurmountable.
The way we talk to ourselves at that time will have an impact on how we react to those situations. If we talk in a negative way, “you can’t do this”, “this is not going to work out”, “you know they are going to reject you”, we are setting ourselves up for failure. We get what we see is going to happen so often.
I called this the “grumpy voice” that is inside our head. Do you have one of them? Most of us do! If we had an acquaintance who had doubts about a situation, we would never talk to them like that though, would we? So why would we talk to ourselves like that? Lets find a better way of talking to ourselves and get rid of that “grumpy voice”.
I do not believe in just positive messages to ourselves. If we say “there are no weeds”, “there are no weeds”, “there are no weeds”, and there are weeds, it really is of no help. The real questions are different than that. Next time the real questions. For now though think about the messages you say to yourself. Would you say them to a friend, and if not, then don’t say them to yourself.