The Magic of “Wanting To”: A Lesson from My Son

 

I’ll never forget that night in Miami.

Our son, Ian, was just five years old. We were staying at a relative’s house for a few days, and it was getting late. The living room looked like a toy store after a storm—blocks, cars, puzzle pieces, all scattered across the floor like confetti after a party.

“Ian,” I said gently, “It’s bedtime. You need to pick up all these toys before you go to sleep.”

He barely looked up from the couch, rubbing his eyes. “Daddy,” he said, “I’m too tired to pick up my toys.”

My first instinct, like most parents, was to push back. To insist. To parent by command.

But something stopped me.

Instead, I walked into the bedroom and stretched out on the bed.

“Ian,” I called, “come here. Let’s play Humpty Dumpty.”

His eyes lit up immediately. He climbed up on my knees and waited.

“Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,” I began, bouncing him slightly. “Humpty Dumpty had a great faaaaall…”

And down he tumbled onto the bed, giggling like it was the best moment of the day.

“Again, Daddy! Do it again!”

So we did. And again. And again.

After the third fall, I said, “Alright—one more time. But first, go pick up those toys.”

Without missing a beat, Ian jumped off the bed and ran to the living room. In just over a minute, the toys were cleaned up—every single one. A task that would’ve normally taken bribes, negotiations, and half an hour of convincing… done in ninety seconds.

He darted back in, breathless. “Okay, Daddy! Let’s do it again!”

I looked at him and smiled. “But Ian… I thought you were too tired to pick up the toys?”

He paused, looked at me with that classic kid grin, and said something I’ll never forget:

“I was, Daddy. But I just really wanted to play this.”

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Reflection:

That night taught me more about motivation than any book ever could.

Sometimes, it’s not about willpower or discipline. It’s about desire. When we want something badly enough, the energy follows. We find our second wind. We push past the “I can’t.”

Whether it’s a child with a mess of toys or an adult with a mountain of to-dos, the truth is universal:

We can finish any job—if we have the “want to.”

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Out Of The Box June 23, 2025