I love thinking about the new year and all the new possibilities. I know new year’s resolutions are a bit blahhh BUT I do like to take any opportunity I can to reflect on what has been and what is to come.
I think a lot about my kids and what I am doing to help shape their future. I think life is an amazing thing and you can do almost anything you want if you can be bothered and creative enough.
Since my first daughter started school I have been thinking a lot about what I learnt in school, what she is learning in school and what I learnt as a child growing up that has shaped the choices that I have made. So much focus is on our children doing well at school in different subjects but to be honest, I know kids learning to read, write and add is really important and we are supporting our children to develop these skills but I feel like my success and happiness in life has been a result of learning some other skills just as important as these.
I wasn’t a brainiac at school. I did pretty ok but funnily enough the subject I did worst in (English) is the one area I spend most of my time working in these days. Life is a funny thing. It has not been English or Math or Reading that has gotten me to where I am today, but I will acknowledge they have helped, it is a few other things my parents taught me which is going to be my focus for 2014.
So here are the things I am going to focus on educating my kids in (and keep reminding myself of) in 2014:
1) Generosity
I grew up with parents who were always generous to the people around them. They were not super wealthy, our family was a pretty average working class family. They were generous with their time, generous with their labour, generous with their money, generous with their food, generous with their conversation, generous with the beds in our house. They taught me how to work for free with a vision of possibility without expecting anything in return and this is one of the major things that has led to so many of the amazing opportunities I have had in my life.
2) Think Outside the Square
My parents never intentionally tried to teach us how to think creatively about life however they gave us the freedom to work it out and never criticised the outcome. With things like the national curriculum being rolled out across the country and all of our children being educated in the same way with the same questions and the same answers I guess we could potentially all end up the same. School is a funny thing in that they teach you something, you do a test and you get it right or wrong. Interesting thing about life is there is often more possibilities than right or wrong. My hope is to extend my kids way of thinking beyond right or wrong to possibility. I don’t think I will have to do much except say yes and let them do what comes naturally to them …. explore and create.
3) Be Nice to People
I am amazed at how being nice to people can change a situation in a matter of seconds. I can’t believe the behaviour I see these days both online and offline and how people think it is ok to treat other people. Somehow this sense of entitlement and judgement on others has crept into our culture and goodness gracious me if the wifi is down or I have to wait in a line for more that 2 minutes than I am enraged and we are always looking for someone to blame. Gratitude has changed my life and realising that most things are a gift. When you approach people with an attitude of gratitude and you stop expecting that the world owes you something amazing things start to come your way. Being nice to people has the power to change your world 🙂
4) Work Hard, Show Up and Put in Effort
I keep hearing around the traps how Gen Y expects to be the CEO of the company within a year of getting a job haha. Somehow along the way we have forgotten that things take time, you have to commit even when you don’t feel like it and going the extra mile makes a difference. I guess the invention of the microwave, dishwasher, dryer and other appliances to make your life easy has slowly changed how we think about things. I think most of us put in effort to one thing or another but I often see this in things like how we look, our children’s birthday parties, the presentation of our houses etc. These are all important things but I am not sure they make us truly happy. The amount of times I hear I can’t be bothered I would prefer to just sit home and watch TV is saddening for me. People are so bad at RSVPing these days because what if I don’t feel like it or something better comes up. I NEVER want my children to say such things. One thing people know me for is showing up. I will be there, I will be on time, I will put in the effort because people matter and I want to support them. Going the extra mile, showing up, working hard and putting in the effort even when I didn’t feel like it has resulted in some of the best opportunities of my life.
The best thing about these goals for me is that they don’t cost any money but the challenging thing is I will never quite know when I am done and I assume I never will be. More and more I am realising stuff does not truly make me happy neither my children though they would tell you something different haha
I am hopeful for a fabulous 2014 with a new member to our family, a few more weekend camping trips, a bit of hard work, and some quality times with friends and family!!!
Written By School Mum AKA Sam Shazzam
