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Health & Fitness

Avoiding the Word..

There is a word we have come to fear and avoid like the plague. It’s one of the most basic words in the English language, yet its proper use is becoming more and more obsolete. What is the word? It’s “No.” I believe this is a societal problem. It’s not isolated to one area, school, or socioeconomic group within our country; rather it’s become a common practice. This week I’ll discuss why “no” is disappearing and why we need to bring it back.

I believe two of the main reasons why “no” is disappearing is because of love and fear. We love our children, students, and athletes so much that we are afraid to present them with failure. I believe it’s an overprotective issue. It’s easier to say “yes” than it is to say “no.” It’s human nature to fear rejection and failure. We have developed a large portion of our society that is emotionally immature. They are not able to handle what comes with being told no. We want to protect our kids from the negative feelings that rejection brings. I get it. I am guilty of this at times with our son. It’s easier to give him something he wants (especially in public) than have a meltdown. But I know this is wrong and I try to avoid it. I remind myself that if I start a pattern now, it will be hard to break later on. It might be difficult to deal with at the moment, but kids learn and adapt. We must not coddle them when they perform poorly at school or in an activity. I think this is really the heart of the problem.

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