Word #55 of 100 – Challenge

Word #55. Challenge.

One of the reasons there is joy in an Acton Academy studio is because the children choose to challenge themselves.

There is an exhilaration that comes from experiencing the deep concentration it takes to do something hard.  As parents, we must remind each other not to step in and make things easier. When we do, we steal a bit of joy.

“Contrary to what we usually believe, moments like these, the best moments in our lives are not the passive, receptive, relaxing times – although such can also be enjoyable, if we have worked hard to attain them. The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.

“Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen. For a child, it could be placing with trembling fingers the last block on a tower she has built, higher than any she has built so far; for a swimmer, it could be trying to beat his own record; for a violinist, mastering an intricate musical passage.”

For each person there are thousands of opportunities, challenges to expand ourselves.”  – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience