How to Avoid Self-Pity With Self-Honesty and Self-Improvement

Self-pity is a state of mind characterized by excessive focus on one's problems, misfortunes, and shortcomings. In this mindset, a person feels sorry for oneself and sticks in an unhealthy cycle of negative thoughts, actions, and feelings.

It is common for a person to pity oneself when overwhelmed with discouragement and disappointment. Even children as young as kindergarten can feel sorry for themselves when they feel inferior to their peers or suffer a seemingly hopeless circumstance.

To overcome this sorry feeling, children must learn to be realistic and stop overly fixating on the negative. By searching for the positive in every situation, they can find practical solutions, move forward, and feel better about themselves.

This social-emotional learning lesson for kindergarten is about overcoming self-pity by practicing self-honesty and working for self-improvement. Through the inspirational story of Glenn Cunningham, this lesson teaches students that being honest about themselves can help them be aware and realistic of their situations, weigh their options, and solve their problems.

Glenn Cunningham was America's top amateur athlete and was the fastest American to run the mile in 1933. Before he achieved these titles, he was once a seven-year-old kid who severely burned his legs in a schoolhouse fire. His doctor suggested amputating his legs, but his mother fought against this decision. She believed that Glenn still had a chance to walk again.

Glenn was in an unfortunate situation, and for some time, he might have felt sorry for himself. However, like his mother, he refused to focus on the negative. Instead, he told himself the truth that there was hope to recover with physical and extensive therapy. By grounding himself in reality, Glenn overcame self-pity and worked hard to walk and run again, no matter how tedious, painful, and challenging. In the years that followed, not only did Glenn's weak legs become so strong, but he could also run so fast that no other American could keep up with him.

What is the valuable lesson of Glenn’s inspirational story? In the class discussion that ensues after, kindergarten students learn that self-awareness, self-honesty, and self-improvement are essential tools that can help them escape the cell of a negative mindset. These skills open their awareness to the positive sides of every situation and the practical solutions that lead to a way out of hopelessness.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher reminds students that while it is okay to feel sorry for a short time, pitying themselves for a long time is unhealthy and harmful. It can drain their physical, mental, social, and emotional strengths and lead to inactivity, anxiety, disinterest in social engagements, and an inferiority complex. Conversely, those who rise from feeling sorry for themselves can turn their weaknesses into strengths, just like Glenn Cunningham.

This is an essential lesson that teachers should not skip. Young students must learn to practice self-honesty and address pitiful feelings for themselves to develop resilience, a positive self-concept, and healthy social skills.