You CANNOT do “anything”
Even before having kids I knew that “you can do anything” would be verboten. I’m not seeking to hamper exploration or even manage expectations in the narrow sense, as Alen Shimel writes.
That innocuous phrase set in me an unrealistic expectation that I should do everything. Regardless of my successes, I still feel a tinge of disappointment when I encounter someone who has achieved elsewhere — written a book, played an instrument, climbed Kilimanjaro…
It’s important to build a lifelong curiosity in our children, but it’s just as important for them to learn that they don’t have to do everything.
(Length: 100 words, and damn was it hard!)
