Interestingly, as humans we aren’t actually that afraid of failure itself.  What we’re really afraid of is failing in front of others and the subsequent feelings of embarrassment. We spend a lot of the energy we could otherwise invest in “getting good” to avoid this kind of social evaluation.

We will go a long way with our kids if we help them get comfortable with negative evaluation.  A growth mindset is one skill that helps us untangle all those little failures along the way from our core self esteem.  Instead of always pushing your child to be better, consider helping them to normalize mistakes and challenges as something that everyone experiences and as something we can learn and grow from.  By doing this, you will actually reduce their self doubt and allow them to flourish even on the rainy days.

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