“I’m done. I want to get down.” Two-year-old Jonathan sat at the table. He stared at a plate full of celery and carrots chopped up into small pieces.
“Are you finished eating?” His aunt Rebecca asked.
“No.”
“Well, then you need to finish eating your carrots and celery.”
He waited a few minutes. Then he ate the carrots.
“Can I get down?”
“Are you finished?”
“Yes.”
Rebecca looked over at his plate, “You need to finish eating your celery.”
Jonathan squished his eyebrows and turned his mouth down, “I don’t like it. I want to get down.”
“You can get down as soon as you’re finished.”
Jonathan turned to me, Rebecca’s friend, and pleaded, “Sharon, can I get down?”
“Rebecca is in charge so ask her.”
“Rebecca, can I get down?”
“As soon as you finish eating your celery.”
Jonathan knit his brows together and declared again, “I don’t like.”
Josie, his six-year-old sister chimed in, “He’s never eaten celery before. Dip it in the ranch dressing and it’ll be alright.”
I stood by him and analyzed the situation. Celery has kind of a bitter taste. No wonder he doesn’t like it. I remembered when I didn’t like celery either.
I rolled the celery in the Ranch dressing and put it in his mouth. As he ate it, I heard the crunch. “Oh, Jonathan, that’s so cool! Listen to the crunch the celery makes. Do you hear it? Crunchy sounds are so fun. Let’s try another one.”
I picked up another small piece of celery, rolled it and put it in his mouth. He crunched down on it, “Listen to the crunch! Can you hear it? That is so fun.”
He nodded as he chewed the celery.
I continued to cheer him on reminding him to listen for the crunch.
We repeated this process until he ate all the pieces on his plate. He looked up, “I’m finished now, Rebecca.”
Rebecca walked into the kitchen and looked at his plate, “You’re finished. Good for you! You can get down now.”
Jonathan jumped down on his two year old chubby legs and ran off to play.
With support, Jonathan got unstuck and achieved his desired goal to go play! What can we learn?
Five Tips To Get Unstuck And Achieve Your Desired Goal
1. Mix hard things with good. When you have to do something you don’t want to do, mix it with something you like to do. I don’t like to exercise but I like reading books. So I take a book to read on the treadmill or elliptical. If I walk outside, I listen to an audio book. I love to learn so I mix learning with something that is work and it motivates me.
2. Make it fun. Look for the things that are fun about what you have to do. Jonathan’s focus changed from what he didn’t like to something fun.
3. Get support. Jonathan had a cheering team to help him manage the task he did not like. He had support to look for the fun in what he had to do.
4. Change your focus. Turn your attention from what you don’t like to focus on the good.
5. Take one bite. Follow the “little by little” principle. When you do a chunk at a time, you’ll make progress.
When you’re stuck because a goal seems hard, make it a game of discovery. Find the crunch. Change your focus to the good. Take one bite at a time. Before you know it, you’ll achieve your desired goal!