Gift of the Magi

by Amy Platon

So remember that skate camp I sent my son to? Well I thought I’d share a beautiful piece of advice that his instructor shared with him. His instructor’s skate name is Magi, hence the title. Wink.

Well Magi told my son that when he tries to learn a new trick, try not to get frustrated. Which is a big expectation for a six year old. But then Magi said this: “You know what I do when I’m not getting a trick? I just go back to a trick that I can do, and do that one for a while so I start feeling good about myself again. Then when I feel good, I try the new trick again.”

Bri-hill-iant!

So, later that day we were at home. My son came downstairs to whine about how he wasn’t getting to the next level of the game he was playing.

I evoked my inner Magi and asked him, “What would Magi do?”

“I don’t know.”

“Magi says to try a different game until you start feeling better about yourself then go back to this game and try again.”

“That’s for skateboarding.”

“No, it’s for everything you do. If you get frustrated, take a break from it and do something you are good at, then try again.”

Pretty good advice for just about anyone, don't you think?