Pleased but never satisfied.
As parents, we have to figure out the balance between supporting our kids and pushing them.
It’s like those early days at the park when they find their way to the swing set for the first time. In the beginning, it’s all about providing support while they get comfortable with the pendular motion of the swing. Then you start pushing a little more. But push too hard too soon and they can fly off the front or whip themselves off the back when the swing comes falling back toward the bottom. Eventually they get used to the ebb and flow of the swing, they find their grip confidently on the chains, they know how to anticipate the force of ever bigger pushes and the resulting swings in the other direction. And when that finally happens, that’s when they start pumping their legs on their own, sending themselves as high as they can—higher than you ever thought they would be comfortable reaching.
As parents, that’s the shifting balance we must find—and keep—at all times if we are to do right by our kids, because nobody improves in life simply by remaining where they are.
Finding that balance between pushing too hard and not falling off the swing can also help us to examine how we teach our kids about ambition and personal development. Push your kids to do their best—be pleased but never satisfied. Push them to try new things, take new chances. At the same time, be happy with their best, even if it means losing the game. Our job is to push them to new heights, and to be thrilled with wherever they land.
—Michael Dell