Name that goal...

I find working in a Primary School incredibly rewarding because I’m continuously inspired and learn something new about myself and others every day.  Anyone, regardless of their age and background can set a goal to change their life for the better and with a little bit of determination, persistence, and self belief, they can achieve anything...

At the tender age of 4 years old, a little boy used to enter his classroom every morning with his classmates. The first thing the children were instructed to do was to go to a desk and write their names in pencil on a ‘Self Register’.  Some of the children did this quickly and simply with no problem.  However, given that it was their first experience of school, it’s understandable that a few of the children struggled to recognise their name, let alone grasp how to write it.  This little boy fell into this category, because he would awkwardly and shakily hold onto his pencil and shout out “I can’t do it... I can’t write my name!”  I would try to help him affirming "Yes you can!" showing him what to do, but he’d get himself wound up and frustrated.  The next morning the little boy continued to sound defeated: “I can’t do it!” and again the teachers in his class including yours truly, would encourage him to keep at it.

The thing I witnessed over the weeks was that the boy did not give up on himself or his goal to write his name. Morning after morning he became more and more confident, and as time went by, he started to listen to our advice on how to hold his pencil with a firmer grip and slowly began to recognise the letters which formed name. With perseverance, the boy began to write his name bit by bit more and more every day.  To his surprise, a month or so later with a lot of hard work he nailed it and happily shouted out “Look look, I CAN write my name.”  This was a great feeling. 

Now at the age of 5, and having conquered the goal to write his name by taking baby steps, the little boy has moved on to writing words and is currently learning how to form sentences. The boy’s journey through school life has only just begun, but with this dedication, courage and strength of character, I think that if he continues to focus with this attitude, he will do well in school. He has inspired me to pursue my own goals and keep moving forward even when the going gets tough.

This story is living proof that anyone, including you can set and achieve a goal if you really put your mind to it. Once you've achieved any goal, be sure to celebrate and reward yourself, but also remember that the journey doesn’t just stop there - keep on going and believe in yourself.  Life as it stands is an ongoing process of learning and striving to be an even better person than you was previously.  So go on, give that goal of yours a name, write it down with a time frame of when you want to achieve it by, then figure out the baby steps you intend to take which will help you work towards your goal. 

Happy shimmies :)

Nic ♥