A Genius Paradigm 
With all the teen years’ turbulence, how do you and your teen not just survive, but thrive?
Young children look at the world very simply. Things are black or white, good or bad, right or wrong. They have a problem seeing the shades of gray. If a good person makes one mistake, are they still good? If something that is seen as right has unforeseen negative consequences, how could it be wrong?
When family or friends come to me with a challenge, I usually send them away with a list of books. It has gotten so bad that my boys will laugh, and before I even get the words out, say, “Let me guess. You have a book that I should read?” This month I’m going to start on a series that will help explain the six characteristics that will help you live and share your genius. The first characteristic is PERSPICACITY. Enjoy!
Perspicacity is a big word – but we are talking about genius, so let’s use a big word! Perspicacity has to do with perception, insight, and discernment. Rene Descartes said that intelligence consisted of perspicacity and sagacity. NASA considers perspicacity to be the most important characteristic for its astronauts to have (“Scientist-Astronauts: Only the “Perspicacious” Need Apply”, Science, 1966). Here are a few books for different ages that can help you and your family develop this trait.
In this case, I’m not talking about gym class.
Flexibility has a lot to do with the growth mindset that I’ve talked about earlier. We need to see ourselves and others as able to change and grow. Our teens are in the middle of going through so many changes in their lives that helping them learn and internalize this is critical. Being flexible also has a lot to do with being imaginative, creative, and innovative.
Our Genius Paradigm book group is discussing “The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict” by the Arbinger Institute for our August 18, 2020 meeting. (If you would like to sign up JOIN HERE.) Before a book discussion, I look up information about the author to help me get additional insights into the book. This book doesn’t have an individual author. It was written by an “institute.” This makes me think of many questions. What does this Institute do? Who are the members? Why couldn’t one of the leaders write the book rather than have it be a group effort? How long has this organization been around? Etc. So I took a little time and did some research. What I found was pretty interesting!
Read Part 1 HERE.
Read Part 2 HERE.
Read Part 3 HERE.
Once I got back to our room after falling out on our rafting trip, I immediately got in the shower to warm up. I stood in hot water as it helped me stop shivering. I still wasn’t warm at my core, so I dressed in warm, comfortable clothes and got into bed and promptly fell asleep.
When I woke up, my husband tried to show me some of the pictures the professional photographer took. He looked it up on his phone, and it was small and hard to see. It freaked him out when I fell out. He wanted to keep reliving it. I, on the other hand, did not. I needed a little time.
Read Part 1 HERE.
Read Part 2 HERE.
As we were going down the biggest rapids of our trip, I got off balance and fell backward out of the raft. I tried to grab on to the boat, but I was ripped away from it. Water gushed up my nose, and I fought to breathe. The cold hit me and took all the energy out of me. The current slammed me into rocks, and the raft with my family was floating away from me.
Read Part One of my story HERE.
Rafting down the Arkansas River in Colorado, you are surrounded by some of the world’s most beautiful scenery. There are cliffs of red with majestic mountains. The trees are all different hues of green with beautiful wildflowers scattered within them. The river rocks are all different colors and the water glimmers as it slides over them. It looks like an ever-changing mosaic.
In honor of my birthday I thought I’d find out about someone famous who shared my special day! I was so excited when I found Beatrix Potter did. I love her story.
My husband, son, and I were able to attend a camp this summer. They usually host hundreds of kids, but due to the current situation and regulations, they could not have kids sleepover unattended. They did an excellent job of being flexible and finding ways to still serve their community. It is a high adventure camp, and they are used to having campers do much of the work. The counselors have had to shift their viewpoint. They no longer have campers; they have guests. It is a different paradigm. And they have nailed it.
I attended this camp several times when I was young, and all five of my boys have been campers here at least a couple of times. Our youngest was supposed to be here for two weeks this summer. I love this camp for so many reasons, but the one that I’m writing about today is that it encourages my family and me to do hard things.