Daughter has been practicing English on her own after school since she started first grade. She had a listening test the other day where Mom said a sentence and she had to write it. She didn’t do very well, which makes sense cause she’s just starting out. But she was disappointed that she got so much wrong.

I told her making mistakes was normal, that if she didn’t it meant it was too easy to begin with. It takes time to get better, but if she continued practicing she’d improve. I pointed out how she was not very good writing Chinese when she started either, but she’s much better now. Every adult would agree with that, that it takes time to improve.

And yet, I totally get her. Whenever I mess up or do something wrong or am corrected I feel bad, feel ashamed, embarrassed, etc. Same way my daughter felt. Why is it so hard to take one’s own advice? Fear of experiencing those feelings has led me to abandoned projects, or not starting them at all. You really do get in your own way sometimes.

So here’s to learning from the younger. Here’s to listening to one’s own advice.