Let's Get Uncomfortable.

Last night I saw Slum Dog Millionaire.  (yes, on a weeknight at 9:45.  it was heavenly.)

What a fantastic movie.  The story, the acting, the cinematography.

For those of you who don't know, the movie is about a young man from India's slums who goes on his country's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"  He is answering all the questions correctly, and the police think he is cheating, as he has absolutely no formal education to speak of.

The answers have all "happened" to him.  Meaning, each answer he gets, he only knows because it happened to him personally.  

And, wow.  The things that happened.

I won't spoil it for you, as I am hoping you take the time to see it.

There are parts of his childhood that will make you cry.  But don't let that deter you.  Some of the best films make us uncomfortable, as they put other people's reality in our face.

The movie got me thinking.

Something I have always wanted for my son is resiliency.  

To be able to survive and even thrive in the face of real adversity.

To think on his feet.

To keep his integrity when giving it up would be easier.

To believe in possibility even when it doesn't seem to exist.

Setting our kids up for success doesn't mean making things easy.

In order for him to grow, prosper, and feel the sense of accomplishment of truly rising above a difficult situation, he must experience true adversity.

Sometimes we are so busy interfering with our kids lives, that we don't allow things to unfold. Our kids often don't get a chance to overcome, as we've already done it for them.

This week Oprah has a series of webcasts.  I watched Monday night's with trainer Bob Green. He was talking about that one of the biggest obstacles people have with exercise is allowing themselves to be "uncomfortable".  To actually exercise at a level that offers results, you have to be willing to experience discomfort.

Kind of like life.

To grow and expand you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.

Same goes for our kids.