Life lessons are akin to battle scars – gathered and collected over time, through trials and tribulations.
As parents, you will have at least a couple of decades of life experiences ahead of your growing teen. It’s safe to say that sharing your most important life lessons can help your growing teen avoid potholes that you have stepped on and fell. This allows him/ her to have a headstart in life.
Read Also
Of course, it will be impractical to sit your teen down and walk him/ her through your whole life till present. Unless your life is as interesting as the comedy How I Met Your Mother – even so, people eventually got relatively bored of the show – your restless teenage daughter or son will probably only afford you 15 minutes at most – sadly a generous approximation.
Think of five life lessons! If you are fast enough, you may be able to finish it in 15 minutes – you may have to forget about catching your breath.
The following are some possible life lessons that may be reflective of your own.
#1: Listen To Your Heart
In present times, choices are mostly governed by social norms and influences. Not many are able to step out and declare that they have followed their heart’s desires. It is important to always give your rising teen the courage to pursue his or her passion and what he/ she really likes.
Many missed the point that success and passion are just disguise of one another. Notable figures of our modern society like Jack Ma and Steve Jobs famously shared similar views. Their overwhelming passion to better the world has led to revolutionary features in which extreme wealth was merely a subset of their brilliance.
#2: Cherish The Present
This is admittedly harder said than done.
As adults and parents, you may often dwell in the past and worry about the future. Unfortunately, this is not ideal. Perhaps by preaching this value to your growing teen, it will act as a constant reminder to yourself. The importance of cherishing the present has become somewhat of a cliché (or rather a corny catchphrase), but it is ever so true. The only thing you can do once the moment is gone is to remember it.
Teach your teenager to stop, experience, soak in and live in the moment, for the moment. Live today and live it well so there will be no regrets tomorrow!
#3: Learn To Interact
The advent of smartphones and tablets has led to a somewhat introverted way of life. People communicate through these technological platforms. This trend is ever so prevalent among teenagers whose generation was caught in midst of the technological big bang.
Communicating face-to face has seem to become the vestige of the past. However, it still remains an essential skill in life. It is therefore important to teach your growing teen how to do so and express what he/she wants and how he/she feels.
Teaching your growing teen the skill of listening will also put him in good stead in the future. Listening is a skill – almost criminally – undervalued. Only through listening can one truly learn. Most problems occur when people are too impatient to listen and it is a common problem among teens today.
#4: Stay Positive
An important life lesson to inculcate to your growing teen is to stay positive and optimistic.
It’s safe to say that everyone has encountered challenges and obstacles in life, the only difference is that some face more challenges than others. Ups and downs are inevitable. The only way to deal with it is to learn to be optimistic and stay positive.
It is very easy to give up but it is difficult to smile and just move on. Teach your teenager to be thankful for the things he/she have and not to take things for granted. At the same time, it is essential that your teenager learns to work hard for the things he/she wants and desires. Never give up and things will come through.
Success belongs not to the talented but the resilient!
#5: Self-belief
Teach your growing teen to have faith and believe in himself/herself.
Do not be overly affected by the opinions of others as they are rightly entitled to their own. Teach your children to work towards their goals and always keep faith, even in face of failures after failures. Only through self-belief will they learn to be confident and resilient. Once developed and inculcated, it is a trait that will be stuck with them for life and will certainly serve them well in the future to come.
One last note…
These life lessons are crucial to your teen’s development. Every parent wants their children to grow up with the right attitude and view towards life. These lessons go a long way in shaping your growing teen’s life.
Once inculcated, these are values that will be engraved in their minds forever and for future generations to come.
