Talk & Teach Your Kids About The Power Of This Little Word …. ‘Yet”

I love Ted Talks – they are thought provoking, educational and entertaining.

I have always taught my families that I work with about the power of the magic little word, ” Not yet …..” as it is forgiving, less about failure and more about mindset and motivation.

With so much emphasis on testing and League Tables what are we teaching our children ?

How are we raising our children?

Are we raising them for now instead of yet?

Are we raising kids who are obsessed with getting A’s?

Are we raising kids who don’t know how to dream big dreams? Their biggest goal is getting the next A or the next test score? And are they carrying this need for constant validation with them into their future lives?

Maybe, because employers often say we have already raised a generation of young workers who can’t get through the day without an award.

So what can we do?

How can we build that bridge to yet?

Here are some things we can do.

First of all, we can praise wisely, not praising intelligence or talent. That has failed. Don’t do that anymore. But praising the process that kids engage in: their effort, their strategies, their focus, their perseverance,their improvement. This process of praise creates kids who are hardy and resilient.

We took my son Will to Barcelona to watch Chelsea play Barca BEFORE we knew the result of his exams to get into his Secondary School as we wanted to praise and reward his effort, tenacity and perseverance.

So watch this inspiring video and pause to ponder the power of “yet”