Ready Your Kids for Change

N_s_Mom
Sun, 28 Feb 2016 14:03:47 +0000

Teach your kids to evaluate their achievement not by the number of honors received, the money earned, the power acquired or the professional recognition attained. In a rapidly evolving economy, they need new (and better) standards by which to measure themselves. Teach them to ask themselves, "How did I challenge myself? Did I acquire a new skill or knowledge (or am I in the process of doing so?) Did I have an impact in a positive way? Did I connect with someone new or at a deeper level than previously? Did I discover anything about myself that is important? Am I carrying ‘baggage’ that I don’t need and how do I get rid of it? Was I my best self in that interaction and if not, how do I fix that or do it better next time?

If they can cultivate the habit of looking at achievement in this way - rather than as something that gets validated externally - then they will be more ready to handle the curve balls that life invariably will throw their way. With the economy in transition, those curve balls are likely to be coming faster and harder than before. Learning how to learn is a great - and essential skill - but our kids also need to know how to ‘self-validate’ when the external world tells them that the job, the way of life, the people they thought would be there always, aren’t any more. Being resilient is hard: Find ways to measure success that don’t depend on external validations.