It’s okay for us boys to rough-house in my room,thought Harry, but not do the same in the park. It’s okay
for the kangaroos to fight and box in the park, but I bet Mom would go nuts if they did it in my room.
No wonder it’s confusing. How could Harry expect to know what was okay and what wasn’t
when he got messages like that? He certainly hadn’t wanted to hurt Mitch and, fortunately, he didn’t;
but I guess he was a little smarter from the experience because he began to wonder: If he hadn’t got
it right this time, how might he do it better next time?
In his head, Harry began to ask himself some questions. Is it safe for me to do what I’m doing? Is it
likely to hurt me or someone else? If we’re playing, how can we have fun and do it safely? One thing may be okay
for one set of circumstances or with one group of friends but not for another. How do I judge that?wondered
Harry. Of course, things do happen that we may not want to happen at times, and there may not be
any firm answers to those questions, but by asking them Harry put himself in a better position to
know in the future what was okay and what wasn’t.
STORY 60
AWAKENING CONFIDENCE
(contributed by Susan Boyett)Therapeutic Characteristics
Problems Addressed
■ Scaredness
■ Sadness
■ Being bullied
■ Physical symptoms of anxiety (hair loss)Resources Developed
■ Building confidence
■ Learning the language of confidence
■ Doing things to create change
■ Building stickability
■ Learning the language of stickabilityOutcomes Offered
■ Confidence
■ Perseverance
■ Empowerment
This is the story of Madeline and how she pushed Scaredness and Sadness away to make room
for Confidence in her life. She decided that she would like her story to be told so that it could be
used to help other children with the same kind of problem.
Madeline was having a hard time getting along with another girl in her class. They had once been
friends, but something had gone wrong and this girl started to say mean things that upset Madeline,
152 Healing Stories, Teaching Stories