My kids are so proud of their accomplishment of being able to traverse the monkey bars. At first neither one of them could do it. I tried not to dissuade them. You are too young, you are too short, and I don’t want to go to the emergency room. I kept my thoughts to myself. I have always tried to encourage them, in achieving their goals.
They love to attain their goals. They are even a little competitive. I try to remind them that they are competing against themselves. They don’t have to tear down someone else or feel that they are not the best because they are not at the same level as someone else.
There is something that is lost when we grow older. We lose the idea that we are only out to compete against ourselves. The Monkey Bars are designed for one person to use at a time. Why do we compare ourselves to others? Why are we so quick to tear down others who may fall off the Monkey Bars? Why are we so quick to point out that we have gone further on the Monkey Bars? It does not make sense when the Monkey Bars are for an individual. The individual can compete against themselves.