We will be talking about taking initiative with our students this month. Initiative is when we are willing to accept responsibiliy for taking action – and then doing so. In fact it may be an action or it may be on an idea that we have had. Many times getting that first step out of the way is the hardest. We can think of so many things that keep us from starting.
The most common though is fear. In fact for many fear has become such a habit that we nearly drown in it, having been conditioned to think that we are not good at something or we will be embarrassed or we will fail. Then we get into the habit of passing that fear of failure on to our children. For some, everytime their child moves they are very likely to scream, “Look out!” We do this to both our children and adult friends.
Imagine our first reaction if one of our friends told us they were going to quit their great job and become an actor. Our initial reaction would be to warn them of all the things that could go wrong. Now that sounds like a rather extreme example – but while we tell our children that they can be anything they want, and that today anything is possible – imagine how different the world would be if we actually believed that and we supported initiative and following your dreams.
We start by teaching our children how to show initiative. Initiative is taking action on ideas, tasks and chores without being told to do so by others. It is a combination of helpfulness, idealism, confidence, enthusiasm and commitment. Initiative is how we get things done and make progress on our dreams, goals and chores.