About a month ago, our kids were very frustrated about piano.
They were a month away from their recital and the songs were not on track to meet they and their teacher Ms. Jean’s standards for quality or speed.
At one point I heard music fly against the wall and a yell of frustration. It was music to my ears!!!
Why? Because it’s a demonstration that learning is happening. On a recent Huberman Lab podcast, Dr. Becky Kennedy shared her advice on parenting and relationships.
She described the “learning space” as the space between not knowing how to do something and successfully doing something. That’s where learning happens. She describes that this space is “inherently frustrating.”
On an average day there are so many conveniences of life that “collapse” the learning space that kids and adults don’t have to experience this frustration often. Now I am all for conveniences and technological progress, but learning is a skill that pays dividends for a lifetime. Completely avoiding this frustration prevents us from learning.
Did Heather and I just let them continue throwing around music and screaming? No, instead we discussed what they were feeling and recognized it’s ok to be frustrated.
They continued working hard with support from us and their teacher and both did an amazing job at their recital on Saturday.
While we of course recognized how well they did at the recital, we tried to focus on their learning which required daily practice and frustration as they learned.
So the next time you are frustrated, pause for a moment and consider, am I learning? If so, pause for a moment and consider the benefits!
Learn In The Flow Of Life
Jason
Commentaires