Learning the Hard Way

I was at the UPS Store the other day. Dropping off a package for shipment.

It was crowded in the store, bursting with the hustle and bustle of people getting ready for Christmas.

A new employee was struggling with one of the machines while trying to print postage for a customer.

She must have made a mistake because she called her manager over to help.

He guided her through the process.

I overheard him say, "I learned the hard way, too."

There was no reprimanding, no judgment. He just showed her how to do it properly so she knew for the next time.

"I learned the hard way, too."

I smiled and thought, haven't we all?

There are days when I feel like empathy is a lost art.

We lose patience so quickly, with life and with each other.

It's moments like this that give me hope.

I'm reminded that we're all in this together. Learning and growing and forging our way through this difficult life.

This particular moment also struck a chord with me. It made me think about the lessons in life that we learn the hard way.

We make choices that have natural consequences. We take the wrong path, choose the wrong person, or make a wrong turn.

We come away from those moments having learned what not to do, sometimes very painfully.

And hopefully, because of those experiences, we make different choices the next time.

Despite the fact that it's often painful, learning the hard way is important. For ourselves, and also for our children.

I've always tried to let my boys experience the hard parts of life. Not to sugarcoat or clear the way for them.

It was hard sometimes to let them feel the pain, experience the disappointment, pay for something they broke, or apologize face to face.

But it's the best way to learn to do better the next time.

And it's so much easier to learn and grow when we have people who support us through those hard moments.

People who say things like, "I learned the hard way, too!" not, "That was a dumb idea."

Kudos to that manager at the UPS Store.

For being a kind, empathetic leader that day.

We need more of you in this world.

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