Teach kids to Aim for Excellence By Dr. Jon Kester

Do your children seem contented just coasting through life? Do they do just enough to get by, while never making the most of their potential? Hopefully your children don’t grow up living in your basement playing video games all day. As a parent we need to teach our children to see the importance of aiming for excellence.

Just to be clear, aiming for “excellence” is not merely referring to getting straight A’s or racking up accomplishments on the basketball court. There’s nothing wrong with working towards these kinds of achievements. But the pursuit of excellence is about much more than that.

It’s about becoming the best that you can be.

It’s about cultivating a deep love for learning.

It’s about making a difference in the lives of others.

It’s about maximizing your talents and abilities..

This section will give you as parent’s ways to inspire your children to pursue excellence.

 Emphasize contribution over achievement

Many children and teens lose motivation when they feel as though they can’t live up to the expectations of those around them.

This applies especially in the area of academics, because they feel strong pressure to achieve certain grades. When they don’t get those grades, they become discouraged.

To enable your children to regain focus and motivation, emphasize that education isn’t primarily about getting good grades. Instead, it’s about acquiring the skills and knowledge that will allow them to contribute more effectively.

By focusing on contribution rather than achievement, your children will find greater purpose in their education. This will make it more likely that they’ll pursue excellence.

Show your children that hard work is enjoyable

In order for your children to make the most of their potential, they’ll need to put in plenty of hard work. The problem is, most of our children see hard work as something to be avoided whenever possible. But hard work is both meaningful and rewarding.  To help your children see this, share with them the joy of overcoming obstacles, solving problems, and reaping the fruit of their labor. Gradually, they’ll start to see that hard work isn’t something to be dreaded. It’s something to be enjoyed!

Give your children descriptive praise

What’s descriptive praise? It’s the kind of praise where you acknowledge your children’s good behavior by specifically describing what they did, rather than using generic phrases like “Well done” or “Good job”.

For example, you might say to your children, “I noticed that you finished all your homework before going out with your friends. That’s responsible of you.”

Descriptive praise is an effective tool in encouraging your children to improve their attitude and effort which will lead to excellence.

Focus on solutions - not problems

This is especially important when it comes to parents own life, because after all your attitude affects your children’s attitude.

So make an effort to reframe problems as opportunities, and explain to your children how you’re taking advantage of these opportunities. By doing so, they’ll be more likely to embrace this positive mindset too.

In addition, teach your children to ask this question whenever they’re faced with a difficult situation: “What is one thing I can do right now to make the situation better?” This is a powerful question that will open their eyes to the productive actions they could take, rather than indulging in complaining.

Conclusion

As a parent, you want your children to maximize their potential, and to find long-term fulfillment and success. In order for this to happen we must do what we can for our kids to aim for excellence.