A while ago I attended my middle son's latest belt test for Karate. It turned out to be a life changing experience.

Imagine a room about half the size of a school gym packed with parents and family members, I mean packed, packed, packed all around the perimeter. The kids are drilled through a series of karate skills to see if they are up to par. Everything was going along fine- I could tell that the kids were all well-practiced and disciplined, but then came the boards.

The kids have to chop the boards in half with their elbows. One by one each child successfully chopped their board (my son included, whew). Then came the very last boy in line to chop his board.

He set up to hit the board and with a yell "Yah!" he hit the board. It did not break. He tried again and again. The room was dead silent. You could have heard a pin drop. I could tell the boy was humiliated. The pressure was intense. His embarrasment clearly apparent- close to tears. However, he kept on trying- again and again and again. The board remained unbroken. The silence was deafening.

Finally his instructor walked over to him. The boy seemed ashamed and was looking down. The instructor knelt down and looked him in the eye and said slowly, "Do You Believe You Can Do It?" There was a short pause, then, "Yes. Sir."

And with one last try he split that board. You should have heard the applause. Everyone was crying (well the mothers).

And now, when I find the adoption process difficult or if I feel discouraged at something I think back to the instructors words, "Do You Believe You Can Do It?" And than I know that I can.

Labels: what to teach your kids