My granddaughter Grace is 13 months old and as the doting grandmother, I love watching her grow. Babies learn so much in their first two years and I find it amazing to not only watch her learn, but I also find it quite fascinating to identify lessons that adults can learn from the learning processes of babies.

Grace is a curious, expressive, and excitable toddler who seems to find great joy in exploring the world around her. She is walking without assistance, and is quite verbally expressive although she has not quite trained the adults to understand all of her words. This weekend we babysat while her parents spent some a few hours away from Grace. I prepared for her visit by baking butternut squash and chicken wings (two of her favorites) and by having some toys available for her. I also learned of her love for the movie Encanto, and the show Daniel Tiger and had them queued up for the appropriate time. What I was not prepared for was her desire to demonstrate her stair climbing skills. When she toddled to the staircase, we redirected her as we were unaware that she had already begun experimenting with climbing stairs. When we told her “no” and redirected her, she walked away from the stairs, babbled something quite expressively, and then laughed loudly while flailing her arms. When her parents returned, Grace found her way back to the stairs. Her parents patiently and carefully encouraged and supported her as she climbed the stairs. As she ascended the stairs, she turned to look at us through the railings, babbled full expressions again and laughed like she did when her parents were away. We do not know what she said or what she was thinking, but it was clear that she knew all along what we had yet to learn…that she already had the skills to climb the stairs. She did not resist us when we discouraged her earlier attempt. But when her parents were in the room, she showed us what she could do, and may have even laughed at us.

There is indeed a lesson in this experience. There will be many times when people will try to discourage you from doing something that you know that you can do. Others may doubt or question your abilities or skill. Some will even tell you that you cannot do something that you have already started. There is no need to argue with them, and no need to try to change their minds. Like Grace, just walk away and laugh. You know your accomplishments, you know your worth. When the opportunity presents itself, continue to climb. When you reach your goals, celebrate your own victories. And maybe even have a good laugh. Be like Grace.