Watching Gabby Douglas win the Gold in the Women’s Gymnastics completion in London was such a heartwarming and proud moment for me. This young lady is beyond phenomenal, yet she is humble and gives all praise to God for her talent and winning. Her mother taught her valuable life lessons that has taken her far and helped her reach the pinnacle of success at such a young age.
The Anguish of Letting Go
As a mother with a 16 year old daughter, I can relate to the anguish Gabby’s mom, Natalie Hawkins, probably felt. She made the tough decision to send her daughter thousands of miles from home to get the best training from Coach Chow. She spent time and money helping her child pursue her dreams of becoming a world class gymnast.
Then Gabby wanted to give up,
Gabby felt homesick and wanted to move back to Virginia. But this time, Mom wouldn’t let her. “She told me, life is not easy, you have to fight and just refuse to quit,” Gabby remembers.
The hard work paid off and now Gabby is a triple winner. She won Olympic gold in the team and individual competitions and is the first African-American girl to win these honors.
Sacrificing for Excellence
My daughter is pursuing a modeling and acting career. I’ve invested time and money to make this dream come true for her. It is something I know will pay off in more ways than one. The financial reward will be wonderful, but more importantly the skills and self-discipline my daughter is learning is priceless.
The Secret Ingredient to Success
I see this in Gabby and all the other gymnast that competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games. How can you get that far without self-control and self-discipline? I cannot see them getting as far as they did had they been spoiled and lazy.
Epic Fails in Parenting the Next Generation
Parenting kids these days is challenging with all the negative influences and focus on material gain and entertainment seeking mentality. We live in the most advanced age, yet most kids seem aimless and out of control. Parents give their kids everything on a silver platter whether they can afford it or not. The result is an entitlement mentality in an entire generation!
Great Parenting Still Exists
Of course it’s not all doom and gloom for the world’s future. There are still parents out there like Natalie Hawkins and other dedicated moms (and dads) who instill a solid foundation of self-control and discipline in their children. Like these parents, I am one who is determined to teach (and model) these crucial traits as well the most important thing in the world… LOVE!!!
Image courtesy of US Weekly
Samantha A. Gregory is an author, consultant, and speaker. She’s a single-mom lifestyle, money, and parenting expert featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Essence Magazine, HuffPost, ABC News, and Mint.com.
Samantha founded the award-winning RichSingleMomma.com™, the first online magazine featuring personal finance, parenting, and personal development content and courses for single moms.
She aims to inspire women who are ready to thrive and not just survive in their single motherhood journey. Connect with her on Instagram @richsinglemomma.
