Page 33 - SB-Polly Perfect

Worksheet
You may have several "Pollys" in your experience with children. Their insistence that they should always win and that life should turn out the way they want it to be is very trying on adults. You may find yourself hoping that they will win just so you won’t have to put up with their complaining and whining. Or you may hope they lose,
“to teach them a lesson,” which it never does.
This first page of the worksheets illustrates that Polly had Stinky Thinking and Not OK emotions when she did not win the “nest contest.” There is a real world corollary to this situation in our professional and amateur sports. It only matters if you won the World Series or Super Bowl and no one remembers who came in second. For many adults this “self-flagellation” about having to be “first or nothing” is a continuation of the immature
“Polly Perfect” mentality.
What could Polly have told herself about the nest contest? “I did my best and came in second. There is always next year. What could I have done differently that might have helped me win?”
I did my best... there is next year... what could I have done differently. All are excellent good coping self-messages, none of which were used by Polly. Consequently, she became angry and since the Polly Perfects of the world rarely accept personal responsibility when they aren't first, she blamed her helper. In our real children’s’ world, they blame the teacher, the friend, the work as “too hard” or whatever convenient excuse is available. As a consequence, they never “learn from their mistakes.”
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