Growth is good!

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow."

- Ronald E. Osborn, teacher and author

I like this one for a sunny Friday afternoon!  I think that this quote applies to both our Silver and Gold Award girls. For both awards, we want the girls to come up with an issue and project that stretches their abilities.  We want them to work hard and learn from the whole process. As you hear us say in training, this should be the hardest thing they've done in their Girl Scout career!

The opportunity to grow doesn't fully present itself without effort.  We want the girls to use the great skills that they have developed over their GS life. And we want them to put these skills into good use!  Leading a team.  Taking responsibility for the success of the project. Creating some contagious energy around the issue and project so that others want to join in, learn and help educate others.

It's scary!  Trying new things, using new tools, reaching beyond the comfort zone, but that's what we're asking them to do.  And while it might be painful and slow, the reached goal makes it worth it. We see how proud the girls are to have achieved their goal.  They have a time to reflect on the whole process, and to learn from the good and the bad.

I asked one girl who had just completed her Gold Award Take Action Project, how she felt?  Her first answer was, "relieved!"   But her second answer was, "really good!"  We chatted a bit, and she said that her project had pretty much gone the way she thought it would, but if she had to do it over, she'd be stricter!  She is a nice girl, and it could be that getting tough with the team members was difficult for her.  Perhaps she wasn't using all her skills in the beginning to set the tone, and some teammembers ran her over?  Don't know, but truly appreciated that she did get a grip on it all, and completed her project.

We all want our girls to grow up with courage, confidence and character to make the world a better place.  Being awarded the Gold and Silver Awards is a great recognition of growth, and a job well done.