Who am I? Three little words that pack a big punch! This question can take a lifetime to answer, but it’s during adolescence that the real self-reflection begins. For young people, getting to know themselves is extremely important—not only to navigate through life, but to make the right career choices.
To loosely quote Aristotle, we need others to know ourselves. By nurturing relationships and making friends, kids learn to do the following:
Sports can open up a wonderful world of self-discovery. By encouraging your child to be active, you’re giving them an opportunity to learn more about their talents. Through sports, they can discover if they have certain traits:
Knowing your strengths is one of the keys to choosing a future career. To help your child identify their strengths, name a series of qualities and ask them whether it describes them. If they say yes to one, ask them to expand on their answer. Here’s a list of common positive traits:
Having an idea of where we can improve is an important step in selecting the right path. The same can be said for students trying to make decisions that will impact their futures. For example, a child who has difficulty sitting still for an extended period of time should perhaps avoid an academic career that leads to a desk job. That’s why it’s important to help your child identify their weak spots. Here are some questions you can ask them:
When you encourage your child to express themselves, you help them discover their passions and what makes them unique. To trigger a discussion, you can ask the following questions:
Do you know who else can help your child learn more about themselves and make informed choices about their future?Their school guidance counsellor! To learn more about their role, check out our article on the subject.