Life has mysterious ways of having you experience something to learn something. It’s almost like you go from readiness point A to readiness point B and the distance between it is a process, each point, whether it’s A/B/C../Z has a point of victory. When you get acclimatized to the outcome you naturally want to go to the next point, which means growth.
It took me a long time to get to this understanding. I despised those who told me what to do, mostly because they never told me WHY. And throughout till where I am now Authority has been something that I am struggling with, though no one has authority over someone else, you are the author, hence you got the authority.
Why cleaning my room? Just because I have to, just because you tell me, doesn’t mean that I understand. As a matter of fact, understanding is the second part in the process, acceptance is the first and I don’t believe that I even accepted it.
Everybody should have the blessing of understanding and developing a routine, it gives direction, it could give a high standard and maintaining a high standard is where discipline comes in. It doesn’t matter what life throws at you, the discipline to maintain a high standard makes you feel good about yourself, makes you come to a clean room, makes you having a diploma that serves as the foundation of your professional career.
Though, children should be explained WHY. And if you, as a parent, won’t be able to translate the WHY and only focus on the WHAT — there will be a gap in acceptance and understanding — and definitely in executing. Children should be taught that the why parents are giving, doesn’t always have to be something that correlates with the why of the child.
The why functions as a standard, when you don’t maintain a standard, you are not gonna get the results. A simple example is sport. When you don’t maintain the high standard of winning every game, of improving on a daily, you won’t have the championship at the end of the season. If the room isn’t clean the standard is gonna fall apart like sand castle in a storm. Responsibilities could be transferred on an early age, actually I believe it would give more meaning to do something.
Isn’t that what would empower your child? To give responsibilities that would give meaning to ‘’the job’’ and gives an answer to the kid’s question all the time: ‘’Why mom? Why do I have to clean my room, you don’t have to live in it..’’
I deeply believe that when kids are being taught that activities that are boring would be made fun and most importantly: Meaningful. That this will benefit them for the rest of their lives. The approach to life will be changed and actually needed to become fearless in their life!