Theme: Good habits, positive thoughts

What do you practice?

Gabriel's father came to pick him up after his swimming lesson. The boy was training every day because he would participate in a competition at the weekend.

- How was your training today, son? - Asked the father.

- It was exhausting. I worked hard but I still do not know if I'll be able to do well. - Said the boy, discouraged.

- Why? - Asked his father, thinking there was a problem.

- Because it's going to be a big competition and there may be other boys who swim better than I do. Besides, if I get water in my swimming goggles and I cannot see right, I will not be able to stop, so I will not swim well. And also, the coach warned that at the start time we can only jump in the water when we hear the whistle. If we jump before it, we're disqualified. Since I'll be nervous, this can happen.

- But son, don’t think about it. You're training hard. You have a good chance of doing well too - his father considered.

But the boy barely heard what he said and grunted:

- If I don’t get a cold until Saturday, because the pool water was a bit cold today. Once that had happened and the next day, my nose was blocked.

The father, then, noticing that the son needed to think again about his mental posture, said:

- Gabriel, when you practice something, you tend to be very good at it. As time goes by, if you keep practicing, you can become a specialist.

- I know dad but why are you telling me this?

- Because, I don’t know if you noticed but beyond swimming, you're practicing preoccupation and even pessimism.

The boy became pensive and the father explained:

- You practice swimming and I'm very happy about that. It is an excellent sport, which contributes to the health of your body, brings you opportunities to live with other athletes and have challenges, which will bring you new experiences such as this competition. So swimming is good for you.

- Although - continued the father - it is not only the body that has activities. Our mind also does! If we practice joy, optimism, confidence and other good feelings daily, we will be experts in finding reasons in our daily life to be happy. In the same way, if we practice bad situations, we will get so good at it that we will believe that we have many problems and many reasons to be unhappy.

- Yeah! It makes sense - Gabriel agreed.

- Yes! I have a co-worker who complains about everything, that he can see a problem even where it does not exist. The other day he complained that the food served in the firm's cafeteria is so good that it's making him fat. Imagine what he could say then if the food was bad!

Gabriel laughed and his father said:

- Therefore, son, you must always think: If someone asks me "what do you do?" What would be your answer? Have you practiced things that make you happy or unhappy?

- All right, Father, I understood. - Gabriel said, understood the need to keep an eye on his habits.

The conversation was already ending by the time they got home.

Gabriel's mother was waiting for them and kissing her son, asked:

- Hi, honey, how was today's practice?

- It was very good, Mama! - replied the son - I am training a lot and I think that on Saturday I will enjoy my first competition very much! I want to win a medal. That would be awesome! But if I do not win this time, that's fine, too. Even so, I will like it, because I love swimming!

Saying this, Gabriel looked at his father smiling. His father smiled back at him and seeing that his son had taken full advantage of their conversation, gave him a big hug, satisfied.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com