Happiness and Plugging Away

One day in my seventh grade my math teacher gave us a sheet of problems to do as an in-class assignment. Immediately my anxiety kicked in because I didn’t think I could get it all done during the class period. Math wasn’t my best subject – I could do it but it was laborious and difficult. I didn’t want to waste any time so I started plugging away and was shocked when I found myself almost finished and class wasn’t over yet. Somehow, even though I didn’t like this type of math, I found myself in the zone. I wasn’t zooming through but I was getting it done. That sense of success gave me enough hope to push forward and finish by the end of class.

Not a very exciting story (like so many life lessons), but a great learning experience. My main takeaway was that slow and steady can win the race if you get started and stay the course rather than waste time being unhappy and challenging “what is.” Of course, there are times in life when it is crucial to challenge “what is.” Lucky for me, Mrs. Perry’s math class wasn’t one of them.