thatta girl!

the challenge came last week.

a classmate dared my lovely to a jump rope contest.

in all fairness, there was a heart association fundraiser at the school and all the kids were participating in the activity.

however.

this boy thought it might be fun to have a bet going between my lovely and himself.

he chose 3 other boys to make his dream team; she picked two girlies. {i adore her confidence.}

what began on monday as a thrill slowly unraveled into a heap of frazzled nerves. little by little.

tuesday, we wrestled doubt.

wednesday, we discussed the power of believing in yourself.

by thursday, a plan was clearly necessary.

we decided defining rules for this challenge was important. and once the agreement was made between teams, there would be no wiggle room for excuses.

i encouraged her to pick a strategy and stick to it. specifically, what's the glory in trying to jump fast and show off when slow and steady would be a better route to success? she concurred.

and, finally, when the negative mental chatter started chewing her up, i invited her to listen to her support system. we could see in her what the negative voices were distracting from her. she so had this.

when friday rolled around, i joined her for lunch and one last pep talk. she was doing some smack talking with her friends. and as funny as it was, i leaned in and softly said, "why focus on him so much? why not use all your energy and focus on YOU? and your strategy? imagine that moment when you win."

i see the same thing in life. we diffuse our own tremendous power when we worry and obsess and lose steam over what other people do. the only power we ever have is over ourselves and our choices. to create a desired outcome, get focused on what YOU can do. and watch your power accumulate.

i came home after lunch. and the mister went up to watch the ropes go down.

an hour later, all three of my peeps walked in the door.

HOW DID IT GO? DID YOU WIN? WAS IT A TIE?

and she said, head down, "i did exactly what you said and. . ."

i searched faces for a clue, some context.

WHAT HAPPENED?

and that's when she beamed a mega-watt champion's smile right at me. . .

"I WON!"

thatta, girl! i always knew you would.