Letters from the Nest https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/self-sabotage?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web I went to breakfast with some friends last week to celebrate one of their birthdays, and part of our conversation has stuck with me. The birthday girl told about one of her children who had taken an interest in drama. He was a star in the middle school play and loved singing and performing for the crowd. But 8th graders, at the top of the pecking order, become high school freshmen, the bottom of the barrel. When auditions for the high school play were approaching, the young man considered the parts he could try out for. Maybe the lead was a little beyond his skill, but maybe not. His mom encouraged him to try. She shifted their family schedule around so that he could attend an extra lesson with his voice instructor to go over his part. When she presented the opportunity to her son, he refused the lesson and rejected the mom’s sacrifice to figure o...