4 Tools to use Now. You already own them.
SUMMARY:
Times have changed.
Math Class - Check
History - Check
Language Arts - Check
But what about how to quit using excuses, how to learn confidence, how to go proactive and conquer that next achievement or goal?
A lack of confidence encourages mental excuses
But what about how to quit using excuses, how to learn confidence, how to go proactive and conquer that next achievement or goal?
Have you heard this at your house?
- "I don't have enough money."
- "I don't know how to do that."
- "I don't have the skills to try out for that."
- "No way will I ever learn how to do that."
- "Everyone will laugh at me. I won't be good at that."
The actual line to achieving confidence isn't what you might think. It is learning to ask questions. Those questions lead to knowledge. Knowledge leads to confidence BECAUSE THEY KNOW THEY CAN ULTIMATELY FIGURE IT OUT.
But the trick we parents have is getting our kids to understand that they have UNIQUE advantages, tools if you will, that exist primarily just for their age bracket. If they don't use them....they will ultimately be gone.
These tools can be used to help them "figure it out."
Tool 1: emotional shadowing
You've heard of job shadowing. But have you heard of "emotional shadowing"? Is there someone in your child's life (or yours) that gets up every day with joy, or with an "I can do it attitude" or an ability to survive being pulled in 1000 directions? Why not ask your child to contact this person and see if they can set up a time to meet with them and find out why they have succeeded? Shadowing can be WAY more than reaching out to an adult because your child is interested in their career.
Tool 2: their brain
Our young adults brains are still under construction. That is fantastic news actually. The front part (the section for reason and language) are still forming and are very receptive to expansion. Our brain's natural "pruning" of connections doesn't really kick in until later in their life. Awesome. There is still time for your child to expand and learn. Let them try new things. Encourage music, reading, sports. Have they ever tried opera? Probably not, but what a brain expander. Our point? Help them use all 5 senses and get that learning curve broadened!
Tool 3: their 24/7 world
I thought was just an easy going kid and not a big "to-do" for my parents. Wow, as an adult you realize that just isn't so. Our kids need to know that they have these precious years to just be a sponge. Everything around them is seemingly dedicated to helping them be the best most awesome adult possible. From traditional school, to extra curricular activities, to living at home, to coaches and more. Remind your kids that their world was designed to invest in them. As adults we know this changes. We deal with mortgages, life, parents and more. But our kids, generally, just have to learn to be the best they can be and absorb all the material coming their way, to figure out who they are.
Tool 4: YOU
You are their safety net. Their refuge. You are providing a safe haven for them to come home to, where they can be who they are and know they are loved unconditionally. No doubt that's a tall order for we parents.
BONUS: Tool 5If they have to make a mistake, as parents we want them to make those mistakes while they still live at home so you can create the proper learning that should come from it. PRICELESS.
Here is something that Holly and I have done for our kids. Other parents have tried it as well. You can do it tonight and your kids will keep it for a lifetime. It will become something they fall back on when the going gets tough. Here are the details.
You are their safety net. Their refuge. Your providing a safe haven for them to come home to, where they can be who they are and know they are loved unconditionally. No doubt that's a tall order for we parents.
I've wish I had looked at emotional shadowing more intentionally when my kids were younger. I'm not a perfect parent by any stretch of the imagination, but looking at emotions in a more concrete learnable way would have helped.
These 4 wonderful tools are items and moves your child/you can use today. Consider them lifelong building blocks toward confidence, achievements, and no excuses. The world teaches the everyday of "what's wrong" that they can't overcome. We parents can fight back and remind them of items they have to turn a "what's wrong" into a "what's right" attitude - - - and no excuses!
That's it for now. And as we always say . . .
YES, You CAN Have Success in the Middle of it ALL
Pam and Holly
Pam Hardison, MBA, BBA in Finance and Business Education, has created and co-owned a national mail order catalog which at one point was the 21st fastest growing customerbase in the nation. As a mom of two college-post college daughters, considers it a privilege and to meet other students and parents along the same road. After teaching high school and college students for years, her commitment to helping them with topics most schools can't cover is the light that drives her.
Holly Powers, Attorney-At-Law (Jameson & Powers, P.C.) has been actively practicing law since 1985 and is a shareholder with the law firm of Jameson & Powers, P.C. The firm specializes in transactional law, health care law, and general business law. Holly has taught students precepts concerning the legal world for over 10 years. With 4 children, she understands what teens need to know and has a passion to help others faced with teens and aging parents.
Stay connected with educational updates!
Join us and other parents just like you, ready to learn all the latest in reaching their young adult with vital information to help them launch as successfully as possible.
Don't worry, your information will not be shared.
