I bet you can’t pick the ripest tomatoes in the garden and bring them to the kitchen faster than your brother.”
My mom did not need to have a degree in psychology to know the best way to motivate her eldest daughter. She knew issuing a challenge was the way to get the result she wanted.
Throughout childhood, I wanted to climb the tree higher than my brother and get the highest score at family game night. I would practice my dinghy tactics and race strategy all summer to cross the finish line first at the junior sailing finals. I was born spunky, tenacious, and determined.