You Can Do Hard Things: Extract by Jess Sanders

We’re delighted to welcome back to Your Zen Mama, social worker and extremely talented author, Jess Sanders, to share an extract from her inspiring new picture book ‘You Can Do Hard Things’.

You Can Do Hard Things reminds children that doing hard things doesn’t always come naturally, but that they won’t be hard forever. In her gentle, reassuring tone, Jess encourages children to embrace a growth mindset and the freedom to fail, and to learn from their mistakes. Working with a growth mindset, a term originally coined by Dr Carol Dweck, instils positivity and resilience in children (and their grown-ups!) and allows them to cope with disappointments or challenges in a more productive way.

Hey, little one. Have you ever felt like giving up because something was too hard?

If you have, you are not alone. Everyone feels like this sometimes, even grown-ups.

Doing a hard thing can make you feel scared, frustrated, and overwhelmed. Sometimes it feels like you will never be able to do the hard thing. 

But the trick to doing hard things is that if you keep trying, eventually those hard things won’t be hard anymore. 

This is because each time you try, your brain is learning and growing. Your brain is amazing; and just like a muscle, if you use it, it will grow stronger. 

Everyone has to learn how to do hard things. 

We are not born knowing how to read big words. We learn how to read them by trying. 

We are not born knowing how to kick a football. We learn how to kick a football by practising. 

We are not born knowing how to colour inside the lines. We learn how to colour inside the lines by making mistakes. 

The key to doing hard things is believing that you can. What you believe about yourself is very important.

When you believe you can do hard things, you will keep trying, and eventually that hard thing won’t be so hard anymore. 

When you believe you can’t do hard things, you will give up and never learn how.

Jess Sanders is a social worker and bestselling, award-winning author of books including Love Your Body, Be Your Own Man and the Life Lessons for Little Ones series. Jess has a passion for creating resources that nurture positive mental health and promote gender equality. Every project she pursues is born from the question, 'Why does it have to be this way?'. Jess is regularly invited to speak on radio and at events about her work and her books. Learn more about, connect with and find out where to purchase the book at jesssanders.com.au | @iamjesssanders

Martina is an illustrator, designer and storyteller living in Linz, Austria. Before making her childhood dream of a career in illustration come true, she studied Journalism and Languages in Mozart's Hometown Salzburg and worked as an editor for radio, a designer and a screenwriter. Martina mainly works digitally but she loves adding a special touch by using hand drawn textures and elements. Learn more about, connect with and find out where to purchase the book at www.martinastuhlberger.com | @lamartina.art