Making Good Choices

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“Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent, and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play.” – Henri Matisse

Yesterday we were driving to Parkour camp when Miss O said, “I really like Coach Kurt because he’s always teaching us about making good choices. Which is important in Parkour.” Then after a short pause she added, “I think it might be really important in life.”

Parkour derives its name from the French phrase meaning obstacle course. A year into the pandemic, I think I would have signed Miss O up for any in-person class that gave her an outlet to use all the extra energy building up from having to do online Kindergarten but I was fortunate enough to make the good choice of Parkour.

Watching the kids learn Parkour, it appears that they are just running, vaulting, climbing, and dodging. But what Coach Kurt as the founder of his Parkour training company and his other coaches seem to be emphasizing is that we have choices in how we navigate an environment. Social emotional learning shows up in most curricula for kids these days but as I digested Miss O’s statement, it struck me just how much she was learning… from play.

Thinking about this sent me to my copy of Gifts of Imperfection by author and researcher Brené Brown. She cites the work of psychiatrist Dr. Stuart Brown about the benefits of play as derived from his research and work in the fields of biology, neurology and psychology. “Brown explains that play shapes our brain, helps us foster empathy, helps us navigate complex social groups, and is at the core of creativity and innovation.”

More than that, Brené Brown’s entire book is on the choices we make in life and how cultivating the right things can help us to live more whole-heartedly, as she terms it. “Wholehearted living is about engaging in our lives from a place of worthiness.” It is all about making the right choices in life, to build on Miss O’s statement. Here are the ten guideposts that Brené offers:

Guidepost #1: Cultivating Authenticity: Letting Go of What People Think

Guidepost #2: Cultivating Self-Compassion: Letting Go of Perfectionism

Guidepost #3: Cultivating a Resilient Spirit: Letting Go of Numbing and Powerlessness

Guidepost #4: Cultivating Gratitude and Joy: Letting Go of Scarcity and Fear of the Dark

Guidepost #5: Cultivating Intuition and Trusting Faith: Letting Go of the Need for Certainty

Guidepost #6: Cultivating Creativity: Letting Go of Comparison

Guidepost #7: Cultivating Play and Rest: Letting Go of Exhaustion as a Status Symbol and Productivity as Self-Worth

Guidepost #8: Cultivating Calm and Stillness: Letting Go of Anxiety as a Lifestyle

Guidepost #9: Cultivating Meaningful Work: Letting Go of Self-Doubt and ‘Supposed To’

Guidepost #10: Cultivating Laughter, Song and Dance: Letting Go of Being Cool and ‘Always in Control’

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown

(Anyone interested in these guideposts might want to take the assessment that Brené Brown offers for free on her website.)

Thinking about how we are always making choices on how to navigate this obstacle course of life, I think Miss O summed it up that it’s important to make good ones. Or at least the choices that are meaningful to us. So when I saw Coach Kurt at Parkour camp yesterday, I made the choice to pause and tell him what my daughter had learned from this company and curriculum he so thoughtfully has put together. With glittering eyes he thumped his hand to his heart a couple of times and then said, “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

(featured photo from Pexels)

29 thoughts on “Making Good Choices”

  3. I’m a big fan of Brene Brown. Have you read her new book, Atlas of the Heart? She also has a fantastic Netflix series based on the book. I think we not only have to consider what is a “good” choice for us but what the consequences of our choice might be, especially to others.

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  4. This made me cry! Firstly at your daughter’s response, secondly at the fact that we all need to learn this life lesson, and lastly… I cried over the coach’s reaction to what Miss O said. Thank you so much for sharing this one!!! Day officially made! 😭🥰

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  6. Wow. All of that letting go will certainly help us to see the Truth of who we are beneath the clutter of false beliefs that we’ve heaped upon ourselves. Thank you for a brilliant reminder. And thanks to Miss O for being the wonderful teacher that she is! And to you for sharing her wisdom. 🙂

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  8. Beautiful post, Wynne. You’ve shared Brene Brown’s work in the past and I really like the guideposts that you shared on this post. I will take a closer look (I do have a 16-hour drive back home this Thursday!).

    Parkour is such an interesting sport. I get served so many parkour videos on social media. I both am in awe and also wince as it seems so amazing but also makes my heart race when I see some of the things these amazing athletes do.

    Coach Kurt sounds like a great guy and find for Miss O!

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    1. You are so right about Parkour – it can be pretty heart pounding. I think it’s fair to say we aren’t at that level – but it has been a great practice for her. And Coach Kurt has created a wonderful curriculum.

      16 hours – holy smokes!! Good luck with that — but it sounds like the trip has been well worth it!

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  9. Parkour is indeed a great learning game that teaches calculations, realistic choices but also to dare a little to extend beyond our comfort zones. Hope you can share some pictures and videos Wynne!❤️😊

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  11. Oh yes! Play is essential for learning — for children and adults. Too often we forget that as parents, teachers, and lifelong learners.
    My son was really into Parkour when he was a child. This course sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing, Wynne 💜

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  14. This is amazing! It fills my heart when teachers instill values in children while teaching them a sport or a subject or anything. I love Brene Browns teachings. I’ve never read her books but I’ve listened to her podcasts and follow her on Instagram and read quotes by her. I will try the assessment. Thank you for sharing.

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  15. I never intended to read Brene Brown’s books but did it on accident because I had read all the books I had at the moment so my friend brought me over some of hers. Among them were four of Brene’s books, and I am so happy that I ended up reading them and getting her other books as well. We often forget about the books we read, but her’s are certainly ones that will stick with me. Just like you said, Isn’t it fascinating how things end up happening differently than we had imagined sometimes, just like with Miss O and her Parkour journey? Well, I believe it is incredible how nature works its attractions for us. Thanks for this blog post 🙂

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