|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
Q. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" A. "Something that hasn't been invented yet." Most of us were brought up to study hard, get good grades, choose a "practical" college major, and strive for a "good job." Talk to a stranded midlife career-changer and you realize the game has changed. Yesterday's rules prepared us to be passengers on a large ocean liner that promised a smooth voyage. Today we realize that ocean liner turned out to be the Titanic and we need to keep ourselves afloat on a small life raft if we want to survive. Here are some tips to help your child learn not only to survive, but to thrive and grow in a chaotic world. 1. From the first day of kindergarten, encourage your child to build on strengths rather than focus on limitations. Does she spend hours studying models of cars for the last twenty years? Maybe she'll become an auto mechanic -- or maybe she'll parlay her ability to classify detailed information into a career as a biologist or pharmacist. 2. Encourage your child to choose a field of study based on his or her natural abilities and passions, not "what will get me a job." Claudia Kennedy, the Army's first female three-star General, majored in philosophy. In her book Generally Speaking, she claims philosophy prepared her to become a top-level intelligence officer. Carly Fiorino, famed CEO of Hewlett-Packard, studied medieval history. And Michael Lewis, financial writer and best-selling author of Liars Poker, was an art history major. 3. Assure your children that few mistakes are fatal. Did your child fail a course? Face rejection from a first-choice college? Most of us can't avoid an occasional failure, but we can learn bounce-back attitudes as soon as we can talk. Yolanda Griffith, WNBA basketball star, dropped out of a premier program due to pregnancy. She returned to a lower-ranked college program, baby in tow, and now plays for the Sacramento Monarchs. I once taught a student who had flunked out of junior college following a close call with the legal system. After a four-year stint in the US Navy, she returned to college, maintained a dean's list grade point average, and went on to a top law school. 4. Encourage your child to experience success in any area of her life. Did she make the honor roll? Get selected for a play, a club, or athletic team? Win an election for competitive office? Survive a strenuous application process for a summer job? Once your child has tasted success, he will know how it feels and will act like a winner when he enters the job market. Cecilia, a shy twelve-year-old, blossomed when she won the lead in a school play. "We want you to improve your grades, not spend time in rehearsal!" fumed her worried mother. To everyone's surprise, Cecilia's grades improved and she made new friends with the "good kids" who were also achievers. Most important, no matter what happens, Cecilia can return to that feeling of success whenever she gets discouraged. 5. Getting into a top university -- or any university -- will not guarantee success. I've met Ivy Leaguers who have experienced unemployment, bankruptcy and even homelessness. I've met high school drop outs who flourished on their own initiative. In my own small town, a couple with degrees from excellent schools have dropped out to pursue artistic careers -- and they clean houses to pay the bills. Recently a minimum wage job was posted by a nonprofit -- and several unemployed lawyers applied. Career-changers who face the future with an attitude of "I can handle anything" are the ones who win today. Tossed into the ocean, they'll improvise a set of oars and keep up their spirits till they figure out what to do next. Those who feel betrayed ("I thought I was set for life") flounder around for weeks, months, even years. Entitlement is over. Those who have a positive outlook, who can seize the unexpected opportunity, can count on reaching the shore. And they realize that only they can transform a resting place into a safe harbor. About The Author Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D., is an author, speaker and career/business consultant, helping midlife professionals take their First Steps to a Second Career. http://www.cathygoodwin.com "Ten secrets of mastering a major life change" mailto:subscribe@cathygoodwin.com Contact: mailto:cathy@cathygoodwin.com 505-534-4294
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Does Sexual Abuse Usually Occur Just Once? Your daughter tells you that Uncle Charley has touched her bottom and she doesn't like to sit on his lap anymore! Should you believe your child? Yes. Lets Not Hurry Children Through Childhood Have you ever experienced one of those days when you wanted to return to the carefree days of childhood when your biggest worry was how you could con your parents into staying up a little longer at night. Have you ever thought that you would like to be a child once more when the biggest decision for the day was choosing which topping put on your ice cream? How to Raise Creative Kids "Where did he come up with that?" Kids often amaze us with their imaginative ideas, and we should give ourselves a pat on the back for playing a role in this development. Innovative thinking is essential for success in school and in life, and it's our job as parents to nurture our kids' innate desire to be creative. Inventive play fosters original thinking, an asset when children are confronted with new situations. By providing activities that use their creativity and imaginations, we are giving our children an important tool to deal with life down the road. Build Character Now! Practical Tools for Busy Parents "To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society." -Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. President Navigating in the New World: Parents and Teenagers Growing Together One of the most prevalent myths of our modern culture is the one that says, "Adolescence is a time of inevitable conflict." You will hear doctors say it, and teachers, and therapists, and pastors, and even parents. It seems that nearly everyone has bought into this myth. The thinking goes like this: 1. Teenage "rebellion" is normal; 2. Because teenage "rebellion" is normal it is to be accepted, perhaps even encouraged by those who work regularly with teenagers; 3. Because teenage "rebellion" is normal, teenagers who do not rebel are "not normal," and will certainly have serious problems later in life; 4. Therefore, to be healthy, teenagers must rebel; The Conclusion to this logic is that "Rebellion today equals healthy living tomorrow." Therefore, Rebellion is simply an investment in the future! However, the Truth is that conflict and rebellion during the adolescent years is not inevitable. In fact, the adolescent years can be a time of great closeness between parents and teens. The fact that teenage rebellion is "common" does not make it "normal." By "common" we mean a behavior that is observed often; "Normal" means that a certain behavior is the way that God intended for the behavior to be from the beginning. Never confuse "normal" with "common." Teenage rebellion is simply rebellion against authority, against their parents. Rebellion is not simply a difference of opinion between parents and teens. Please do not interpret a difference of opinion as rebellion. And rebellion is not simply a teenager's attempt to "grow up" and become more "independent." Instead, rebellion is the attempt to overthrow the legitimate family government that is in place. Rebellion in a family is similar in this respect to rebellion in a nation's government. Rebellion by teenagers against their parents is the attempt to overthrow the parents as the authority in the home; the attempt by the teenager to make himself "King" in his own life; the rejection by the teenager of his parent's values and beliefs. In every layer of human society God has instituted a system of "government" or a "chain of command structure." These systems are seen from national governments right down to marriages, families, and the church. Every social organization, or social system, has an organization that provides structure, teaches values to new members, provides for the enforcement of values among its members, and provides leadership. The family is important to our society, as it provides the next generation with core values and beliefs, and with a model of appropriate behavior. In America, the leading causes of teenage rebellion are:5. Moral relativism in the culture;4. Lack of parental supervision, or lack of parental influence;3. Outside influences from the culture (especially the glorification of sex) delivered to teenagers through the entertainment media, such as popular music, movies, and TV;2. Peer dependence, peer influence, and peer pressure;1. Boyfriends/girlfriends. Work with your teen, spend time with your teen, and talk with your teen. There is no substitute for your time and attention invested in his or her life. School Days - Top 10 Tips for Establishing a Good Routine Teachers know that children thrive in an environment withroutines, boundaries and rules. Unfortunately, parents oftenforget it! And yet by establishing good routines andencouraging children to help you maintain them, you have anopportunity to set a pattern and a discipline that will staywith your children for the rest of their lives. You willmake school days easier and far less stressful, reduce thechances of starting your day late or dragging on foreverwith the homework, put an end to nagging and shouting, andhave happier, more relaxed kids. Top Ten Common Sense Rules for Fathers There are a lot of sophisticated parenting theoriesand techniques out there. Many of them are widely usedand treated as the gospel. But if you want to be an effective father, you can skip most of them and concentrate on common sense rules that have always worked. They won't always make you the most popular Dad, but they'll always be effective: Childhood Obesity & Parents Healthy Food Confusion Many parents struggle to know which foods are healthy for their children. When they are able to opt for healthy choices, about two-thirds struggle to get their children to eat healthily, a poll of nearly 800 parents found. Developing Patient Partnerships (DPP), which commissioned the survey, said that parents need more support to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity. Childhood obesity has tripled in the past 20 years, official figures show. End Babysitter Abuse Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your child has been abused, in any way, by your babysitter. People think that to be a babysitter means you must be a nice person. WRONG! Some of the nicest people turned out to be Serial Killers, so don't ever give a Babysitter the benefit of the doubt. Childrens Discipline: How To Resolve Divorce Parenting Differences? Did you know that inconsistency on matters of discipline gives double messages, produces anxiety and can be very confusing to your children? Children need to know where they stand in their behaviors. It is therefore critical for parents to resolve their differences in matters of children's discipline. I WONT DO IT! Tips for Working with the Oppositional Child "I WON'T DO IT!" "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!" ?Gimme? Proof Your Kids: How To Keep Your Child?s Materialism In Check It's the first day of the summer holiday. Five year-old Stephanie is shopping with you at Wal-Mart and picks out three stuffed animals that she saw in the movie Madagascar. "Oh Mom please! I want to bring Alex and Gloria and Melman to Kinder Gym with me!" she says and stomps off in disgust when you tell her she has to choose only one. Guide Your Kids! This 3-D Map Leads to Character A tall, weary-looking mother with glasses, walked into my counseling office with her 10-year-old-daughter. The mother frowned at me and sat down. "Oh-oh!" I thought. "Why are you here?" I inquired. Pipe Down! Life is funny. How Many Sex Offenders Live On Your Block? For any parent, learning that a convicted sex offender lives on the same block, can be a chilling discovery. The thought of it alone, can be disturbing. Most parents can't imagine that someone, who could be so potentially dangerous, may live somewhere on their block or along the path their child takes to school. However, it is highly likely that there are registered sex offenders in your neighborhood. Nights by a Pinocchio Lamp Sitting by her Pinocchio lamp, she smiled at me as her tiny shadow puppet danced on the bedroom wall. "A bunny!" she giggled with all the jubilance of a four-year old. Her blue eyes sparkled with pride as she showed me the animated image she had created. Teaching Reading: Part One One of the biggest milestones in our children's education is when they learn how to read. You've probably asked yourself, "When is the best time to teach my child to read?" You can research this until you are blue in the face, but the answer is really very simple. You've already started, because from the moment your child is born, you are teaching him. We talk to our babies. We read to them. We sing to them. We recite silly little verses while we change their diapers or put them in their car seat. We hug and cuddle our children. We play with them. We laugh with them. We read to them. Summer Survival A kiddy pool and sandbox can be a great investment for the summer as well for the younger kids. My son spends hours playing in his sandbox and kiddy pool and the investment was small compared to the hours of enjoyment he can get from these. If a family member is looking for a gift this summer for a birthday or just because, suggest buying one of these items so that you don't have to pay for these yourself. We asked for these items for our son's birthday and also used our anniversary money to put towards a family zoo pass for the summer. Don't forget to stock up on all of those fun summer toys for the kids to play with outside. You can stock up on a lot of your fun summer items over at the local Dollar Store. We purchase sidewalk chalk, sandbox tools and toys, bubbles, and water guns. They offer a wide variety of fun summer toys that won't break the bank. You can also make a couple of these yourself with these recipes. Avoid Weight Problems In Children Although, not a well publicized statistic, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past two decades-15% of American children are obese according to the U.S. Obesity Task Force. COMMITMENT: Teaching Children the Lessons of a Lifetime It's been said, time and again, that for a child to learn what is most important, he must be shown the lessons through example, not through words. And, if we are to nurture certain traits within our children, we must first develop those traits in ourselves.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
