What Happens When You Stop Doing It The Hard Way

This morning I took a day off work and tackled my rental property.

Now, handywoman is not exactly a title I would put on my CV. But there was no one else available and the place needed a spruce up. So I got stuck in.

I cleaned with gusto. Found the paint, the brushes and the drop sheets. Started with a touch up here and a touch up there. And then, before I knew it, I had the roller in my hand and I was rolling the walls in my very cumbersome and uncoordinated manner.

I could practically visualise my heavenly husband cringing behind his fluffy white cloud, hands over his eyes at the execution of my work.

It was not by any means the correct technique. I will definitely not be winning apprentice of the year any time soon. But the job got done.

And standing there with paint on my hands, clothes and narrowly missing my face, I started thinking about the people I work with. And actually, the ones I do not work with yet.

The ones who are out there right now, every single day, doing it the hard way. Coping. Managing. Getting through. Not because they want to do it the hard way. But because it is the only way they know.

Did you know that at least 20% of us process information differently? That means one in five people are working harder than they need to, using strategies that were never built for the way their brain works. It is a bit like trying to run a Mac on a Windows system. It is just not going to go well. And nobody has ever shown them there is another way.

That was Jade.

Jade came to work with me nine months ago. She made a special trip across the island to spend a week with me. She was working as hard as she possibly could and wondering why it never quite felt like enough.

Sound familiar?

We worked together. I showed her a different way. And then she went home and she got on with it. Checking in with me every month or two. Beavering away with her tools. Doing the follow up work.

And then her results came in.

I actually stopped and stared at the numbers. Mouth agape. I read them again just to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. 

At the end of last year, Jade's reading comprehension had increased by 17.4. The national average increase is 8.2. Her vocabulary increased by 18. The national average sits at 8.5.

Nearly double the national average. Across the board.

But here is what her mum said that stopped me in my tracks.

"These aren't just numbers to us. They represent a little girl finding confidence, understanding and belief in herself."

That is what happens when you stop doing it the hard way.

You can read Jade's full story over on my website right here: The Outstanding Results That Made My Jaw Drop

Thanks for being here. You are part of a growing community of people who refuse to give up on struggling learners.

Ngā mihi

Nikki