My daughter, Stephanie, and my husband, Del, threw me a surprise birthday party last night and it was awesome! Another indication that I have amazing people in my life! To get me out of the house, Del took me to Best Buy to get my birthday present which was a new iPad. I always feel guilty when money is spent on me but this is something I have really wanted since I will use the heck out of it so I was so excited! Our last guest left around midnight and Del reminded me that I should plug it in so it can be charging overnight, so I did. Before I knew it, he was messing with it and baffled that it was speaking Chinese and was trying to fix it and change it to English. When I saw that he was on it, it really bugged me since I wanted to be the first one to turn it on and “play” with it. He spent some time working on it and the longer he took, the more upset I became.
The fact that it was because of him that I even had it or the fact that he had tried so hard all week to make sure I had a great birthday and the fact that he is an amazing husband who always has my best interest at heart was totally out the window by this point. When he realized that I was upset, he didn’t understand since he was only trying to help. By the time I woke up the next morning my iPad was fixed. I was bummed! I know, I know, it is not that big of deal in the whole scheme of things, but the fact of the matter is that sometimes all we want is a chance to prove to OURSELVES what we are CAPABLE of. I will never know if I am capable of taking a brand new iPad and turn it on and figure out how to change the language from Chinese to English. LOL
Seriously though, it was a lost opportunity to see if I could do it. I really started thinking about this and it makes me wonder of how many times I might have fixed things for others to make their lives easier but hindered them instead. How many “iPad moments" have I taken away from them, that they could have had an opportunity to see what their potential was by letting them try and when they ABSOLUTELY knew that they needed help, waited for them to ask and THEN help them the way THEY wanted helped? We shouldn’t ever assume what others need and take it upon ourselves to make it happen for them. This robs them of searching and finding out for themselves what is right for them and in turn, learning to ask for help when they need it and only IF they need it. This is how they grow and feel good about themselves and their achievements; and then, seeing how awesome it is to achieve, keeps them wanting to achieve more and progress!
On the other hand, have WE tried our hardest at reaching our own potential or do we take advantage of the fixers or take the easy road and avoid hard things? Face it, trials and hardships are uncomfortable and hard work! I was listening to one of Brian Tracy’s books (he is a self-help guru that I love and will be referencing a lot) and he said, “If you are comfortable, you aren’t growing. Get comfortable being uncomfortable!” I heard this just as I was about to give up running on the treadmill before I had reached my distance goal. I was really out of shape and suffering deeply! Needless to say, I kept going. Every day should be an attempt to become better, even if its uncomfortable. Challenging ourselves only builds us up and helps us realize our potential.
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