5 steps that will help our youth develop
a goal centered healthy mentality:
1. Discover Talents
– All of our children are talented! Often
athletic skills are revealed at an early age without any work, however some of
their other gifts may need a little nudge to be exposed. Talents are usually discover via trial/error
in school, extracurricular activities and most importantly being attentive to our
children’s likes and dislikes. When a child finds something they are good at
and passionate about it is our duty to help them nurture these talents. Remember their gift(s) could be the catalyst
to build a legacy that is even bigger than their basketball career.
2. Define Goals – After we have unearthed
the hidden talents of our kids it is time to develop them. What better way to do that then creating
measurable goals that will give them an incentive to be the best. A great idea is to work with them on creating
a vision board that will highlight their goals.
Showcase the vision board in a place that they can refer to often and
see if they have met any of their goals. Over time they will have to redefine these
goals, because a goal chosen at age 10 may change at age 20 or age 30. If your child is not a visual person or
opposed to a vision board they can also create a list of goals and hang them up
instead. The point of the exercise is to
develop a conversation about goals and create a plan for the future that is fun and
productive.
3. Write a Plan
– If athletes do not plan and have laser focus, they will fall short of their
goals, so it is important to sit down and design a work-in-progress plan or a
timeline. Like the goals discussed above
a plan will give them an outline for the future. It is really important that this plan is
attainable to build their confidence in achieving their goals. It is also essential that these plans take
into consideration that they are kids and they need to enjoy their childhood before
it is gone. A plan could consist of fun
and educating camps they can attend to cultivate their talent, classes to
expand their gift, talking to successful people in that field or joining
organizations to help them network with other kids like themselves.
4. Athletic college
scholarship are tickets to achieving your goals - Although these
scholarships are a passport into a great school to play basketball, students
need to take their education seriously, so they can be learn the skills needed
to bring their goals to reality. Getting
a degree in a field that you demonstrate talents in, will help you develop a career
if their basketball goal is finished after collage or shortly after you enter
the NBA. College is also a great place
to network with non-athletes that are working in the field that they are
interested in, because they may be the needed career catalyst later on in life.
5. Give back –
Everyone has a purpose in life, but one key element of that purpose is to give
back to your community. We need to teach
our kids from an early age to always leave their community better than when they arrived. It is amazing the lessons learned
from giving to others in need. Giving
will also develop a purposeful mindset that will aid in them considering how to
serve others and especially how they can use their gifts to benefit the lives
of others.
God Bless
A. Mayartis J.
