BC (before children) I worked in several different fabric stores. In fact, for a while, I thought I wanted to own my own one day. One thing I loved doing was buttons. I’d have to inventory them and sort them. While I was working with them, I could see the outfit that I wanted to create using the different buttons. A button is one of the smallest parts of a project, but it can be the starting point of something amazing. But it can also be a huge challenge. I’d start with this tiny part and visualize the fabric I needed and the other notions. Inevitably, I wouldn’t make what I imagined. The other supplies weren’t there, and I didn’t have the resources to create them.
I think Michelangelo was on to something. He saw the “angel in the marble.”
Everything was there that he needed to work with. He didn’t need to add anything to it. He just had to eliminate what wasn’t supposed to be there.
When I look at kids, try to “look for the angel.“
If I look at them like I did the button, I am trying to figure out what needs to be added to them to complete them. Too often, we can’t find the right thing to make it work.
If instead, we look at the child and see their strengths and help them become clearer to themselves and to others, we are seeing the angel. Sculpturers use many tools to get rid of the extra material that isn’t needed. They chisel, hammer, and sand the stone to get it just how they envision it.
But the angel is in the marble. They are just letting it out.
A lot of times, the things that kids need “chiseled” out are negative thoughts like, “I’m not good at that,” and “I don’t like that.” And it isn’t just the kids that need help. I recently needed to do a little sanding on my personal angel. I didn’t think I could memorize things anymore, and it was making it hard for me to do what I needed to do.
I got some help.
I took a class this weekend to help me develop some techniques to organize my thoughts. In less than 3 days, I could memorize an 18-digit number in less than 3 minutes. I was also able to memorize a list of twenty random words, in order, in less than ten.
This is HUGE for me!
It chipped a huge chunk of marble off. I got rid of my “I can’t” and “I won’t.” I now know I can, so I will!
One of the things that kept coming up in the class was, “why don’t they teach this to kids?” and “this would have made school so much easier!” After two advanced degrees and teaching for over two decades, I finally feel like I know how to learn effectively.
Just out of curiosity, is this something you’d want more information about?
I’d love to know!
If you’d like more information about Genius in 21 Days, let me know. I can get you into a free class introducing you to what they do. It is an AMAZING class with tons of content. Email me at info@realizinggenius.com, and I’ll send you a link to sign up for it.