5. EMBRACE CHANGE
My life-long friend (and former Lil Raggamuffin Summer Camp yoga teacher) Tyrone Beverly was recently asked to give the keynote speech at a high school graduation. He told the children: “When adults ask you what you want to be when you grow up? Tell them you don’t know what the world is going to look like 10 years from now so you don’t have enough information to answer that question.” The students gave him a roaring applause.
As adults, we need to come to terms with the fact that we must prepare our children for a future that is going to be vastly different than the present world we know. We need to teach our children to embrace change. Those who are able to be flexible and react powerfully to change will be the ones to experience the most success. This means shaking things up every once in a while. Put your child in situations where they have to meet new people, send them to camp, have them explore activities that are outside of their comfort zone, show them through example how to be a life-long learner, travel, discover new foods, change schools.
These are just some of the ways that we can create an environment of change and help our children build flexibility. And please avoid pressuring children with an outdated road map of life that looks like: graduate high school, go to college, get a job, get married and live happily ever after. Encourage your child to look at their life more like a novel with stories and lessons, victories and setbacks, gains and losses. Encourage your child to do amazing things with their one glorious life!