Today while putting my son to bed he asked me to sing. I was thrilled as not a single soul has ever asked me to sing as my singing skills are very limited and I have the funny distinction of winning laryngitis competitions during my university days. So in my enthusiasm I started to fish for compliments.
Me: do you like my singing?
Son: Yes
Me: do I sing well?
Son: NO
Me: then why do you like my singing?
Son: because you’re my father and I love you
He said it with such a simplicity and honesty that I couldn’t help but give him a tight hug. Our kids are born brutally honest but as they start growing up we program them to be less honest or politically correct. And by the time they finally grow up they get programmed to fake things. I think the world might be a better place if we didn’t teach them to be less honest or politically incorrect. All we need to do is to reprogram our own thinking to accept brutally honest feedback.
I don’t sing well but I’m happy to sing because my son likes it.
