A Desire to Learn

We’ve been on vacation the last few days, staying with my sister who has a pool in her backyard.  My little 6 year old has been practicing swimming without her “floaties” for about a year.  She first started learning to do that in the same pool she is swimming in this week.  She was so determined to do it, and so excited with any progress she made.  This week, she hasn’t wanted to spend a second in her “floaties.”  She so badly wants to learn how to swim, and for me to say she’s accomplished it and never has to wear those “floaties” again.  She jumps off the rock ledge with a smile on her face, goes down the slide and gives me a thumbs up when she makes it to the edge, practices swimming the length of the pool, and spent all day yesterday perfecting her back float.  She couldn’t be more eager to learn.  It has made me think about whether I still have that same determination to learn new things, or whether I am too concerned with how I appear to the people around me who can already “swim without their floaties?”  My daughter saw other people who could swim on their own and wanted to be able to do the same thing, so she practiced over and over, with a smile on her face, until she learned how to do it.  What happens to adults though when they see someone doing something they wished they could do? Do we hang our head in embarrassment?  Do we avoid situations that would expose our lack of ability?  Do we criticize people who have the skill out of jealousy?  When and why do most of us stop trying to learn new things that interest us?  We will be happier if we pursue learning new things that interest us.