Smart Strengths: A Parent-Teacher-Coach Guide to Building Character, Resilience, and Relationships in Youth by John M. Yeager Ed D MAPP & Sherri W. Fisher M Ed MAPP & David N. Shearon JD MAPP

Author:John M. Yeager Ed D MAPP & Sherri W. Fisher M Ed MAPP & David N. Shearon JD MAPP [Yeager Ed D MAPP, John M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cogent Publishing NY
Published: 2014-08-01T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Building Resilience with Flexible and Accurate Thinking

I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.

—Winston Churchill

On a beautiful spring afternoon, a softball and baseball team played home games. In the baseball game, the batter hit a grounder to Darren, the shortstop, who failed to catch it, as it took a bad hop before it reached his glove. In the heat of the moment, he said to himself, “The ball took a bad bounce.” Darren continued to feel confident in his abilities and to enjoy the game. His teammates and coach yelled out: “Shake it off!” They noticed Darren’s erect posture and energetic movements and were confident that he would continue to play to his expected level of performance for the rest of the game. The coach remembered that Darren was scheduled to bat in the next inning and thought, “Good. He is one of our better hitters.”

On the adjacent softball field, shortstop Samantha bobbled a ground ball that hit a little rock as she was trying to make the play. As she watched the ball roll into left field, she thought, “I just don’t have what it takes to play this game.” She began to lose confidence in her abilities and started wishing she was doing something else. Just like at the boys’ game, her teammates and coach told her, “Shake it off!” They noticed Samantha’s slumped posture and slowed movement and began to wonder whether she would recover from the error. The coach remembered that Samantha was scheduled to bat in the next inning and thought, “She’s normally one of our better hitters, but maybe I should let someone else bat in that slot. She’s not likely to get a hit after making that error.”

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