We, as parents and educators, would do well to listen to our youth when they express their dreams. It is in our interest to encourage them to explore and to play with their creative potential. Through listening and helping them determine how to make their dreams a reality, we can help them to discover what they are good at, what their passions are and what they need to do to move toward their dreams. They then come to believe that they can succeed. And, beyond that, they develop a passion for success because they can see the possibility and what is in it for them to have their dreams become a reality.
When we allow them to believe in their success despite any failures and the lack of support that WILL happen and then support them through the challenges, we give them permission to persevere. We can convey to them that they will only fail when they quit. We can teach them relationship and salesmanship skills so they can convince others in their life that they have the passion, the willingness and the capability to fulfill their dreams. Through this, they will be provided the building blocks for accomplishment of their dreams. When they are shown how to build their life through the establishment and achievement of their goals and that they are, in fact, capable life-builders, they will be far more motivated and likely to succeed.
There are a lot of people who are afraid of failure. If we allow for failure AND embrace it, we could use it as a stepping-stone and a tool for teaching. If we fight failure, we will get more failure because we block further communication about what caused it. When we use failures as the valuable lesson they are and build off of them, achieving success is more likely.
It is also important that we establish clear, specific and reasonable boundaries for our youth to work within. Don’t we all want and need to know what our boundaries are? I remember when I was a teenager thinking that I wanted to be told what was acceptable and what was not. That hasn’t changed.
When boundaries are established that define what limits are set for gaining success, we establish what is important and we spend our time fighting ONLY the important battles. We are then better able to focus on working with these important people in our lives to help them choose, plan and accomplish the success goals that they want to achieve while staying within their established boundaries.
Written by Kathie Bobbitt, President of Kinesis Development LLC, an organizational and personal growth company. As an Organizational and Personal Development Coach she conducts seminars, workshops, executive and group coaching on strategic planning, process improvement, leadership and personal development. Her company also encourages the personal growth of young people through their Rising Stars Program. Visit the Kinesis Development website at http://www.kinesisdevelopment.com.
Tags: Leadership, Perseverance, Setting Boundaries, Youth Success