Lessons from Kite Flying

Last sunday, I went with my family to the Singapore Kite Festival held at The Promontory @ Marina Bay.

It was a memorable experience watching colorful kites of all shapes and sizes flying high in the blue skies while feeling the gentle breeze blowing in my face amidst the bustling sounds of street performances mixed with children laughter and even harp music!

We managed to successfully get our kite up after a few tries, yippie!

After the session, I realised that kite flying is actually similar to life and success

1. Ride the opportunity when it arises

To get the kite up requires the wind to blow in our favor and once it does, we quickly set the kite off and grab the chance to fly it as high as possible, with a little running and tugging when necessary.

Similarly before our projects can take off, we must be prepared and ready to capture opportunities when it arises. A little hard work is definitely required at the beginning, but with the right technique and resources, coupled with the right timing, the projects will fly!

2. The ups and downs are what makes it fun!

During our kite flying, our kite soared with the wind and fell as the wind strength weakened, just like many of the other kites around us. Each successful attempt to get it back up brought along the excitement and exhilaration all over again. And it was this very up and down cycle of excitement and dismay that kept us captivated and glued to the activity. Imagine if the kite had just set off smoothly and stayed up there steadily, I think everyone will get bored after a while, especially the children!

There will always be ups and downs, peaks and troughs in life. Rather then fearing it and getting disheartened or put ourselves down when it happens, embrace it and view it as a learning experience. Enjoy the process because the sour and bitter is what makes success all the sweeter when you finally achieve it! If you ask successful people about their most memorable achievements, chances are most of them will recall their challenging moments and how they overcame it.

3. Keep your eye on your kite (goal)

We saw some people chasing after runaway kites and kites falling after colliding with others in their paths. In life, just like kite flying, it’s easy to lose focus and become distracted by other people or events. Once we take our eyes off our goals, it’s very easy to fall off track and end up spiraling downwards unknowingly.

In order to have sustainable success, it’s important to maintain focused and keep our eyes on our goals at all times.

Even when the kite is flying nice and high, we must stay vigilant, occasionally tugging at it and steering it away from other kites in the same path. Similarly staying focused on our goal allows us to respond and adapt to situations and maintain our momentum.