I think that I
have battled low self-esteem most of my life, or could it be that I am a
humble, self-deprecating person by nature.
Maybe I was born that way, or did my rearing have anything to do with
it? Often I have stepped aside from some
opportunity feeling that the next person would be better for it than I. I have often worried that perhaps I have an
inferiority complex.
Recently I
thought perhaps I am like I am because of things my father taught me. Here are just four of those important
lessons:
1. When my sister
Doris and I were young and wondering where we came from, dad told us several
times: “I found you, Richard, under a
rock and brought you home. Doris, I
found you on a rotten stump in the woods and brought you home to mama.” I was glad that dad explained the facts of
life to us.
2. As a youngster I
was freckled-faced and my hair had a reddish tint. I was always embarrassed by the way I looked,
but my father taught me why I looked the way I did. One day when I was just a boy, I was standing
by him as he talked to another man. When
the stranger pointed at me and asked dad, “Is he your son?,” dad responded, “Yes, Richard is my son and he
looks like that because he was standing too close to one of our old cows when
she farted.” I was glad he explained
where my freckles came from!
3. As a teenager when
I did something unwise, my dad said to me more than once, “If your brain was
dynamite there would not be enough power to blow your nose.” I was glad he explained to me how my brain and nose worked together.
4. Speaking of brains,
I think that my dad recognized my capabilities.
I was often taking things apart to see what made them work. He said to me many times, “If you had a
brain, you would take it out and play with it.”
I appreciate the fact that he knew what I was capable of.
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