有志者事竟成If you Think You can, You can

一棵小树需要养料和水才能长成参天大树，而一个孩子需要关心和鼓励方可进步，最终成为栋梁之材。他(她)遇到困难，一句安慰和勉励的话语就可以让其心头燃起希望之火，重振拼搏的信心……有坚强的毅力和远大的志向，最终必将一飞冲天!

If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can’t, you’re right.

“Tumbling time!” I called out. My group of giggling children lined up before the sea of blue mats. Meagan trailed behind and stepped quietly into the back of the line. She was eight years old, the same age I was when I began sports acrobatics.

I started the class with forward and backward rolls, cartwheels and handstand forward rolls. The children had mastered this series months ago. Two girls and a boy had even achieved back handsprings on their own. But Megan was still working on handstand forward rolls. It simply took her a little longer to learn the tumbling moves.

I caught her ankles as she kicked into a handstand. While checking her body alignment, I reminded her to straighten her legs, to push against the floor and to tuck in her chin. I guided her as she rolled over, then we started the process again. Each time she stood up I made a special effort to find something to compliment. “What beautiful pointed toes you have,” or “Your legs were much straighter than last time,” or “That was the strongest handstand I’ve seen you do yet.”

One day before class, Megan’s father asked to talk to me. By his somber expression I didn’t know what to expect.

“I’m thinking of taking Megan out of class,” he said.

“Why?” I asked. Had I done something wrong? I wondered.

His arm draped protectively over Megan’s shoulders, he said, “She isn’t catching on like the other kids are. I don’t want her to hold them back.” I could see his pained expression as he said this. Megan’s eyes were downcast as if she wanted to disappear.

“I think you’re making mistake,” I said. “Megan needs this class, possibly more than the other children need it. I didn’t start out as a seven-time national champion. I started out as an eight-year-old girl, just like Megan. My coach used to say, ‘There are children with talent, then there is Christine. She just works hard.’ When I look at Megan I see myself. She works hard.”

“Sir, your daughter may never win a competition. She may never even compete, but I promise you that if she keeps trying and believing in herself, her self-esteem will be more important than any gold medal ever won. I believe in Megan. I believe that she can accomplish anything she sets out to do, in her own time.”

As I said these words Megan looked up at me. Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was smiling like a bud flowering into bloom.

Her father hugged me and whispered, “Thank you. Thank you so much.” He turned to Megan and said, “Honey, go and put on your leotard. It’s time for your class.”

Megan eventually did learn handstand forward rolls as well as many other skills—in her own time. More importantly, she never again stood at the back of the line. From that day forward, whenever I asked the children to line up for tumbling, Megan ran to stand in the front.

有志者事竟成。而缺乏意志，诸事难办。

“该练翻筋斗了!”我高声喊道。孩子们咯咯笑着来到那一块块的蓝色垫子前排成队列。梅根走在最后，悄悄溜进了队列的尾部。她8岁，跟我开始练技巧运动时一个年龄。

上课了，我先让孩子们做前滚翻、后滚翻、侧手翻以及倒立前翻。这套动作他们几个月前就掌握了。两个女孩和一个男孩甚至都能独立完成反向翻筋斗了。可梅根仍停留在“倒立前翻”的阶段。她学习翻筋斗，比别人花的功夫要大一些。

她倒立踢腾腿时，我抓稳她的脚踝。我检查了她的身体姿势，提醒她要把腿伸直，要用力推地板和回收下巴颏儿。我引导她翻滚，一遍一遍地做。每次她站直身子，我都要费心力找好听的话说，如“你的脚趾尖尖的，真好看”、“你的腿比上一次直得多了”或者“这个倒立特别扎实，我看是你做的最好的了”。

一天上课前，梅根的父亲找来说想跟我谈谈。见他表情阴沉，我猜不出发生了什么事。

“我想让梅根退学。”他启口说道。

“为什么?”我问道。是我什么地方做错了吗?我心里直打鼓。

只见他保护性地用胳膊搂住梅根的肩头说：“她和别的孩子不同，跟不上趟。我不想让她拖大家的后腿。”他说这番话时，可以看见他表情沉痛。梅根眼帘下垂，好像恨不得找个地缝钻进去。

“我认为这是错误的决定。”我说道。“梅根需要上课，或许比别的孩子更需要。我自己并非一开始就是‘七届全国冠军’。起步时，我和梅根一样，也是个八岁的小女孩。我的教练曾经夸我说：‘一些孩子有天赋固然不错，而柯里斯蒂娜有毅力，她训练刻苦。’我看见梅根就会想起我的童年。她也很刻苦。”

“先生，你的女儿也许永远无法在比赛中夺冠，甚或与比赛无缘，但我可以告诉你：如果她持之以恒，对自己有信心，那她就会有自尊，而这比赢得任何金奖都重要。我相信梅根，相信她只要下定决心干某件事情，终究将大功告成。”

我说话时，梅根仰望着我，眼里盈盈含泪，脸上挂着微笑——那微笑犹如怒放的鲜花。

她的父亲拥抱了我，口中连连低声说：“谢谢，真的非常感谢你。”然后他转身对梅根说：“宝贝，快去换衣服，该上课了。”

梅根最终学会了倒立前翻，还学会了许多其它的技巧。更为重要的是，她再也不躲在队列的末尾了。自打那天起，我一让孩子们排队准备翻筋斗，她就跑来站在队伍的最前列。