Student

This is from episode #7 (Changing the Tapes) of The Robcast. I like it a lot.

Write down on a card: STUDENT.

Jesus called disciples. He essentially calls students to learn from him how to master the art of living. And he tells his students, “Now go and teach other students!” Now, if you’re a student, you’re learning. You’re figuring it out. You’re going step by step and you don’t have all the answers. You aren’t expected – nobody anywhere is expecting you to nail it on the first try, especially in your job, in your studies, being a parent – where in the world did you get the idea that you could nail this on the first try? No one’s ever been you before. No one’s ever been you before in these unique circumstances. No one’s ever been you before facing these unique challenges at this time. You’re the first! So take it easy on yourself. When you start beating yourself up – “Oh, I didn’t see that coming, I can’t believe I blew it like that! What in the world was I thinking?” – what you were thinking at the time is, “This seems like the best move,” and then later you learned there’s a better way to do it. STUDENT.

When you find yourself beating yourself up over your performance: STUDENT. When you find yourself with harsh, critical voices saying, “You should be farther along” – a student is learning. When you feel like you take three steps forward and then one step back: STUDENT. Patience. It’s a long, long road you are walking, step by step by step, and sometimes you wander off the trail and then you realise you’ve wandered off the trail and you come back. You are a student. 

If you’re a mum…. you’re a student, you’re learning how to raise these kids. And here’s the most important thing: First kid may have been one way but second kid may be different than first kid, are you with me? And so you’re freaking out because Kid B isn’t working like Kid A did, and all the stuff that worked with Kid 1 isn’t working with Kid 2. That’s because you are a student and learning how to raise Kid 2. So when you beat yourself up over all the things that worked for Kid 1 that aren’t working for Kid 2, you are a student and you are learning and this kid at this time is a unique challenge ‘cause you haven’t been here before.

So write this down somewhere – dashboard, refrigerator, cubicle, bottom of your computer screen: STUDENT.