My granddaughter recently threw herself into the world of politics. She delivered a campaign speech a few days ago to a packed house of undecided voters in an attempt to earn their trust and support. She’s only eight years old, so it was a room full of third graders and she was running for a spot on the Student Council. Nonetheless, she had to prove to her classmates that she is a worthy candidate for office and warranted their vote. She even wrote her own speech, with a little help from her politically minded Aunt and Uncle who live in Washington D.C.
My name is Scarlett Howey. I’m running for student council. You should vote for me for many reasons, but I’ll tell you three: One: I’m a great leader. I love being a leader on my soccer team and I want to be a great leader for you. Two: I’m a compassionate friend. I love listening to everyone and helping others anyway I can. Three: I love my school and. I want the opportunity to make it even better. If you vote for me, I’ll show you Howey…. Do it!
I’ve heard a lot of political speeches lately, but none this simple and sincere. Leadership, friendship and loving my school. Yeah, I’m bragging a bit, but grandparents are allowed to do that.
When I found out she was going to run for the Student Council, my initial thought was, “Gosh I hope she wins. I ‘d hate to see her lose, that would break her little heart.” But after a bit more thought, I decided that she had already won by stepping out with bravery and going for it.
Win or lose, she stepped out of her comfort zone and stood in front of a room full of her peers and told them why she believed in herself. That is a beautiful thing for an eight-year-old kid to do. If she does not get elected, then she can say she at least tried, while others did not muster up enough courage to do so.
No matter the result, there will be powerful lessons to learn. If she wins, then she learns to win with grace and will be even more confident the next time an election is held.
If she loses, then one of two things could happen. One: she simply gives up and never tries again. Two: she learns how to handle failure by not allowing it to keep her from trying again.
Failure happens to us all. My dad told me one time that how we handle failure is a direct reflection of how successful we will be. “If you don’t learn how to handle failure, then you will never learn how to handle success. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from trying. You just never know what can happen until you roll up your sleeves and go to work.”
Sometimes it is hard for parents to allow their kids to try because they don’t want them to fail. Parents want to protect their kids from failure, but unfortunately that does not work for long. Allowing a child to try and possibly fail will most certainly produce good fruit later in life. Working through adversity builds character, confidence, and feeds a never quit attitude, no matter what age you are.
I got a phone call from Scarlett last night telling me she had been elected to Student Council. Her confidence will grow, and she will probably run again next year. So, winning is good. But if she had been defeated, then tears would have flowed, ice cream would have been in order, and her parents would have spent the evening teaching her how to handle defeat. Even at eight years of age, that is a powerful lesson to learn.
Sooner or later, defeat will happen…. unless you’re Tom Cruise in a movie.
Of course, I’m glad she won, I’m her Pops! But either way, I am proud of Scarlett. Not so much for being elected to the Student Council, but because she has the courage to step out in faith and try, even with a chance of failure looming.
That is a victory no matter the result.
p.s. I will be taking a break from my column. It’s hard to believe I have been at this for two years with over one hundred columns written. Thank you so much for reading. I’ll be back here on Friday November 1st. Be sure to keep an eye out for my fiction novel, Red Dirt Redemption. Get it on Amazon on October 3rd!
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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to [email protected].