by Margaret Evans, Director of Lifespan Learning
Have you ever noticed how easy it is to point out someone else’s strengths … but the moment you are asked of yours, you draw a blank? Interviews are prime examples of this. Employers want to know if you have an honest opinion of yourself without creating unnecessary grandeur. They also want to know that you think enough of yourself to have the ability to fulfill the position to which you are applying. Why is it so hard for us to know our own strengths?
Most children have little desire or appreciation for withholding their strengths. When they wish to be seen, they express it. They do not have the same level of shame or embarrassment that comes with adulthood and fear of others’ judgements. Somewhere along the way, we as adults became ashamed to share our gifts.
What are some ways that we as adults can cultivate strengths in children? How can we create space that eliminates the possibility of children learning shame that some of us know so well? How can we model the grace required to utilize our strengths appropriately?
Set aside an evening this month and watch the children’s movie Happy Feet. It is a lovely story of a young penguin gifted with dance but who is shunned by his fellow penguins until he finds some friends who show him how wonderful his gift really is.
Ask a child or youth in your life to imagine what their best day would look like? I might imagine a day where I am hiking to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. Use your imagination and create it together. The skills will flow with abundance – Watch and see!