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 continue my series to explain the six characteristics that will help you live and share your genius. The fifth characteristic is Action-Oriented. Enjoy!
Give them the structure and example to help them grow.
My husband loves to garden but he doesn’t like to use stakes or trim the plants. Every year we have tomato plants take over our yard. The fruit is really hard to find and there probably isn’t as much of it. He feels it is more natural to not fuss over it constantly and likes to just let it grow.
Our kids need a little bit more.
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.
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.
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.