<p>If we can only teach our kids ONE thing- it is to keep going after a diversion- a stumble- a setback
When we look at those who have made great achievments in their lives- we don't see all the times they failed- you have to be willing to fail or get diverted to acheive.
Yesterday I went to a funeral of a girl who had a 4.00gpa, a cheerleader- an award winner- all around athlete- beautiful and with many friends.
She jumped off a bridge saturday- she was 15
I don't know what happened, other than she had a fight with her mom and stormed out ( isn't that your worst nightmare?)
Kids need to have time to reassess- they don't have to always acheive- development= IMO through the lifespan is cyclical- it isn't a straight course to acheivment. Just like when they were little, and they took a huge leap forward- they might regress in some areas.
Steve Jobs had a great commencement address at Stanford last year- that touched on this-
ttp://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html
[quote]
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
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life your life- be aware- don't be afraid of making mistakes or of your children making mistakes- serendipty :)
Encourage them to do what they need to do- just like you encouraged them to follow their own path after high school- it is their life- not their fathers & not their cousin Zacks</p>