Everyone deserves a second chance to make a first impression

 

Today I reran my marathon - yup, you read that right. I had a really tough race this fall and wanted to get another stab at the distance and walk away feeling good and having enjoyed every step. Today, I did that. My good friend who has run more than several dozen marathons was my dedicated pacer (self-proclaimed Sherpa) and we set out long before the light to see if we could re-enact my marathon but better. The experience was incredible. We had company from some of our track friends along the way. I felt uplifted and supported. I literally felt great til mile 25 and then it was far too close to give up - just pushed through some momentary discomfort and crossed our finish line feeling amazing. 

Why am I writing about this on my parenting blog? Well, for starters I write about whatever I want on here 😂. But like most things, this got me thinking. How often do we make a judgement based on a first impression of something and never revisit it? How often does one of our children do the same with a child or a teacher and we just let them sit in that place of judgement? It is so easy to fall into this trap. So easy, especially in today’s hyper media world where everything is done at lighting speed, a text or a post sent out without thought, a brief but off encounter with someone, any number of scenarios I can name which leave us with an impression, often a wrong one, of someone or something. 

We need to take the time to reset our first impressions. We need to allow ourselves to revisit ideas or concepts we have - about people, situations, the world around us. We need to constantly grow and change and evolve and revisit and rethink. The more we do this, the better we will be as humans overall. The less we sit in judgement and the more we open our eyes and our minds to the current realities of things the better we will interact with all parts of our world. 

So yes, I wanted a chance to make a different first impression of what I was capable of in a marathon - but more than that I wanted to reteach myself that everyone deserves a second chance to make a first impression.