Letter to my son: Thank God you are stubborn!

Until you will be ready to have this discussion, I am writing.

It is very tiring; actually, it is exhausting to repeat the same words approximately 10 times per day, 7 days a week for almost 3 years now, and still see you doing what you think you should be doing.

It is very disappointing to start or end all my talks to you with the phrase “Please listen to me”, and see you disregarding me at the end.

It is frightening letting you go after having said “Don’t do that, you’ll get hurt.” when I know you defy me at the very next second.

You’re stubborn. No matter how much energy this is taking at the moment, I thank God for giving you this quality.

From the gene perspective, you got this from me I suppose. Your father is not like that.

I am proud of you! Stubbornness can help you a lot in your life, as it has helped me. I am relieved that you will:

· go after your dreams,

· follow your instinct,

· pursue in having hands-on experiences of this,

· commit to your own goals,

· try until you achieve,

· say no that what doesn’t make sense for you,

· not internalize other people’s (not even mine) self-limiting beliefs.

Since I am responsible for this characteristic, I feel I must warn you that it can lead you to mistakes and painful learnings too. I wish you don’t make so many mistakes I did and perhaps learn quicker, suffering fewer losses than me before moving forward.

So today I am changing my approach. I will stop saying :

· Listen to me.

· You will do this because I say so.

· This is just the way things are. You can’t change them.

I will be saying more of :

You can try yourself. Please watch while you try.

Watch the world around you.

From the time you will decide to do something until you finally achieve doing it, the world is changing, walls may arise. With eyes shut, head distracted or down to work, you may crash against a wall. Keep your eyes open, head up, and take a turn if needed to keep track of your destination.