I have a beautiful daughter Lauren, who happens to have Down Syndrome.

When she was born one of the very first thoughts I had as a mother was, “What will she be able to do?”

I had not a clue how remarkable this child would become. What she would teach me. What she would teach the world. Trust me when I say, Lauren totally gets it, and she is here to help us all figure out the important stuff.

One of the challenges that Lauren faces is getting her words out. As a young child the stuttering was a real trial. She has done thousands of hours of speech therapy. And it has paid off. She still stutters here and there but she has a handful of skills that she can use that really help her verbally.

Still, she has times when she gets super excited about telling me something or it’s a long story or the vocabulary is just not there, and the words won’t come out. After 2 or 3 tries Lauren will get a certain look on her face and inevitably say, “Never mind.”

My response 100% of the time is…

“We don’t do never minds.”

I hate never minds.  It’s her way of giving up.  And I KNOW she can do it.  She just needs some time.  She needs to take a breath.  Slow down. Use her skills and try again.

100% of the time…and I am not exaggerating.  She does it.  Every single time she is able to speak.

Is it perfect?  Nope!

Is it only understood by me? Maybe.

I don’t care!  She buckled up and gave it her best effort.

Do you ever find yourself succumbing to a “never mind” mentality? “Never mind…I just can’t find a time to exercise. Never mind, I cannot stick to eating healthy. Never mind about me and my goals I have a handful of other people to take care of.”

C’mon now, YOU are too important to “never mind” your life!

I believe this is one thing I do well as a coach.  We just simply don’t do never minds! Instead, we find a new way, a better way, and way that works for your life. We might change the plan a bit, but we don’t “never mind” the goal.

So how can we stay in the game?

CHANGE IT UP:

Let’s learn from Lauren:

1. Take some TIME to re-think the plan.

2. Take a BREATH and remember why you started.

3. SLOW DOWN…maybe you are doing too much all at once.

These are all good SKILLS that can keep you from succumbing to the “never mind” mentality.

You can find a way! You can make a way.  YOU are too important to “never mind” the work. 

Let’s make change happen together!