Embrace the. . . Limitations?

I’ve watched this TED Talk at least three times in recent days. I’ve showed it to each of my girls, curious to gauge and discuss their reactions. Carve ten minutes out of your day. It’s worth checking out. Few things have inspired me the way uber talented artist Phil Hansen does in this talk.

For starters, Hansen challenged me to think about how life circumstances—even and especially limitations—can be used to enhance our craft. He rejuvenated my belief that perspective helps to shape experience. Candidly he shared that at times he became creatively stumped. It was through these times of reflection and contemplation that Hansen grasped an appreciation for the process—for the love of creating itself.

By inventing twenty-three projects within a Goodbye Art series, Hansen grew to understand the liberation of letting go . . . of outcomes, failures, and imperfections. Can I get an Amen?!

I won’t spoil the rest because it’s just that good. Trust me.

But I will leave you with a quote that struck me as deeply profound.

“Learning to be creative within the confines of our limitations is the best hope we have to transform ourselves and collectively transform our world.” –Phil Hansen

A Creative Approach to Parenting Your Athletic Child

We are a big soccer family. You betcha, we’ve been watching the Women’s World Cup over the past few weeks. We were even able to watch the game against Columbia alongside my soccer hero of a sister. (She played at UConn, met Pelé, and won All-American numerous times during her athletic career.) It’s been so exciting to cheer on the American women’s team.

But as most things do, it’s also triggered me to become reflective. All three of my girls are active in sports, one in dance and two in soccer. I’m constantly observing and absorbing as I parent my girls through their games and performances. And I’m learning more about who I am and who I want to be as a parent.

Creativity bleeds through all areas of life if we let it. The willingness to do something differently—to stretch yourself—to engage in something in a way that might at first seem unconventional or even strange. There’s a ripe opportunity for all parents to take a creative approach to parenting their children on the field and the dance floor…wherever they may participate.

I’m grateful for a dear friend of mine. We call each other often to hash out our weekends jam-packed with sports activities. We psychoanalyze the parents, keep ourselves in check, and remind one another of the very message that is so well communicated in the following TED Talk.

If you have children in sports I urge you to watch this.

 

The takeaway? Next time your kid tromps off a field, be it a diamond or rectangle…remember these words…

“I love watching you play.”

This rings true to the core for me. Watching my girls grow, work through difficulties on the field and dance floor, and fight to reach a more resilient layer within themselves—this is a sheer joy for me.

Do you love watching your kids play sports? What else do you think needs to change in youth sports today?

*Thanks to my friend Dawn for pointing me to this particular TED Talk.