Someday, he'll get the A.

My little brother is a smart young fellow. He really is. He got some crazy high score on some math test and ended up being like second highest in the school but of course he doesn't share news like this and we hear second hand from someone else.

But anyway...

My parents hold Jake to a high standard--as they should. He is a funny little guy who is capable of great things. So when he brought home his report card that was mostly As, my parents were proud yet discouraged that it wasn't a noteworthy letter across the board. Now you might say that this is harsh--cut the kid some slack, right? Mind you, the only B he received was in physical education. P.E. My brother may be a smart cookie, but do not let this fact lead you to discredit his athletic abilities for the little guy thrives in many sports. He should have an A in P.E. I'm ridiculously uncoordinated and I managed just fine. Yet for some reason, this "secret genius" (as I heard a girl in his grade call him) wasn't making an A in what should have been the easiest class of his seventh grade career.

When my parents inquired about the unsatisfactory letter adorning Jake's report card in the "Wellness" category, this was Jake's justification:

"Writing on your leg is really hard."
What?
"Yeah. They make us fill out worksheets while we're sitting on the ground in the gym and I have to write on my leg. And it doesn't help that my handwriting sucks. So my worksheets always look bad."

We all had a good laugh after hearing this excuse but then of course my parents continued to pursue a slightly more legitimate excuse for the inadequate grade. Eventually the conversation ended with some noteworthy words on my mother's part...

"Well Jake, if it takes coming home and practicing writing on your leg after school, then that's what you're gonna do."

Of course this made me chuckle...but then it made me think. We often are our own biggest inhibitors in life by simply making excuses for ourselves (not saying my brother didn't have a legitimate problem--get that boy a clipboard stat). But if we take the excuses and limits that we place in our own lives and discover that the obvious solution sounds a bit ridiculous--like practicing writing on your leg--we in turn discover the excuse itself to be slightly ridiculous. If we can abolish the self-made obstacles, then there is one less thing holding us back from reaching our goals.