Monday, October 30, 2006
Choices and Options
Dear Darren,
Our puppy is so much bigger! I think he doubled his size last night. He is a very good puppy, as long as I make sure that he does all the right things :)
Right now my puppy’s behavior is still mostly my responsibility. When I take him outside to potty, he does the right thing. But if I forget to take him out, he will potty in the wrong place and it was my mistake for not taking him out enough. If I put his food near him and keep my food out of his reach, he will eat his own food and not mine. But if I put my food where he could get it, he would eat mine! Oops!
As he gets older, his behavior will become more his own responsibility. One of the biggest aspects of growing up is taking personal responsibility. It means not blaming other people (like your teachers or your dad) for troubles in your life. It also means not blaming situations (like Asperger Syndrome) for troubles in your life.
Instead of blaming others or blaming situations, we make our own choices. In order to make our own choices, first we have to think through what our options are. Sometimes we don’t seem to have the option that we want.
For example, I can’t seem to cure my migraines, although I would certainly choose that option if it existed. So instead I keep trying, by choosing options that do exist and can help somewhat, such as a healthy diet.
Most of the time there are many options in life. Unfortunately, sometimes our options do not seem perfect to us. If you insist on having your one perfect option, you will be frustrated and not get anywhere because your one perfect option probably doesn’t exist. Usually your real options are limited and may require hard work.
I’ll write an example about that tomorrow.
Love,
Mom
Our puppy is so much bigger! I think he doubled his size last night. He is a very good puppy, as long as I make sure that he does all the right things :)
Right now my puppy’s behavior is still mostly my responsibility. When I take him outside to potty, he does the right thing. But if I forget to take him out, he will potty in the wrong place and it was my mistake for not taking him out enough. If I put his food near him and keep my food out of his reach, he will eat his own food and not mine. But if I put my food where he could get it, he would eat mine! Oops!
As he gets older, his behavior will become more his own responsibility. One of the biggest aspects of growing up is taking personal responsibility. It means not blaming other people (like your teachers or your dad) for troubles in your life. It also means not blaming situations (like Asperger Syndrome) for troubles in your life.
Instead of blaming others or blaming situations, we make our own choices. In order to make our own choices, first we have to think through what our options are. Sometimes we don’t seem to have the option that we want.
For example, I can’t seem to cure my migraines, although I would certainly choose that option if it existed. So instead I keep trying, by choosing options that do exist and can help somewhat, such as a healthy diet.
Most of the time there are many options in life. Unfortunately, sometimes our options do not seem perfect to us. If you insist on having your one perfect option, you will be frustrated and not get anywhere because your one perfect option probably doesn’t exist. Usually your real options are limited and may require hard work.
I’ll write an example about that tomorrow.
Love,
Mom
