Thanks for stopping back by my blog. I know I was a day late in getting this up; thanks for your patience. On that note, I’m going to take a break from my weekly blogging. I’ll still be writing an occasional post, but at least for the time being it won’t be on a weekly basis. Please, sign up to follow me on twitter so you can receive a tweet any time a new post is available, or check back periodically to see the most current posts.
Now, without further ado….. this weeks post.
Try This At Home…………………..
Play rock, paper, scissors with your child. For ten games in a row choose to be the same thing. After a few games your child will figure out that you are playing in a predictable fashion. Then on the 11th game switch your item of choice. Afterward, explain to your child that having a wide variety of tools and skills will make him more unpredictable and versatile, allowing him to gain the upper hand on his opponent or make an extra good impression at school or work.
There are times in life when being predictable is important, but when you child is trying to out whit his opponent, the last thing he wants is for his opponent to know exactly what he is going to do. The concept transfers to other areas of his life as well. Your child’s teachers and future bosses will value your child’s consistency, but it is when your child goes above and beyond their expectations that he will really get noticed.
I specialized in track cycling, and while the match sprint event wasn’t the race I specialized in, I did race it occasionally and I always enjoyed watching it. The sprints are probably the most well known track event. Based on the rider’s 200 meter time trial time, a bracket is made and riders compete in several rounds of racing. Each race is three laps and is generally raced between two or three riders. The first rider across the finish line wins. Riders generally do not go all out for the entire race; riders most often employ cat and mouse tactics to gain the upper hand. The race is very short, fast and explosive. Because it generally is a race between two people, it is very important to know your opponent’s strength and weaknesses. The best way to win the race is to force your opponent to race in a manner that doesn’t allow him to use his strenths, allowing you to gain the upper hand and win the race.
I heard many of the United States sprinters talk about the tactics they planned to emply against their opponent. Many of them had to resisit the temepation to be predictible themselves; it was very tempting for them to revert to their own “bread and butter” tactics, because it was what they were most comfortable with. By having a wide variaty of tools and strengths the sprinters made themselves more versitle, less predictable and thereby tougher competition.
As I said before, it is good for your child to have a standard that they hold themselves to and in that sense be predictable. In some situations though your child will gain the upper hand by doing the unexpected. Talk with your child about times in his life when being unexpected would be benefiicail. He should be able to come up with several examples on the sports field, but encourage him to think outside the box as well. For example, if he suddenly does a big, unexpected , extra chore at home, maybe he’ll gain your favor and trust and have the opportunity to earn extra allowance.
Thank you again for being a loyal visitor to my site. Please check back occasionally for new posts.
