Monday, April 22, 1996

Why do children climb up slides?

If you’ve ever spent much time at a playground you’ve seen that small children love to slide down slides, and that they also love to climb up them. Playground slides are not designed to climb. They are steep and slippery, and have no hand holds. And that is precisely the attraction for little ones -- the challenge.

We’re all born with the desire to seek out and overcome challenges. For the better part of human history, it’s what has kept people alive. And it has led to a steadily continuing increase in our standard of living.

Challenges can teach, inspire and help us to grow. And overcoming challenge brings a sense of accomplishment and the confidence to face even greater challenges.

Sometimes, though, we get so caught up in security and comfort, that we’re reluctant to take on challenges. But such complacency is at best boring, and over time can erode the essence of life.

Challenges are a key part of childhood. Children learn to overcome obstacles on a daily basis to be able to walk, communicate, eat and socialize. In fact, you could say that challenge is the essence of youth. If you think of yourself as “old” then you’re probably not experiencing enough challenge. And if you want to always stay young, never stop seeking new challenges.

— Ralph Marston

Relax How do you spend your time? next

Copyright ©1996 Ralph S. Marston, Jr. All Rights Reserved. The Daily Motivator is provided for your personal, non-commercial use only. Other than personal sharing, please do not re-distribute without permission.