The Mindset Of Teenagers
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
There were three high school girls talking and while one was complaining about not wanting to do something because it took work, another said “yeah it’s hard in the beginning but once you do it, it’s nothing”. This is the mindset of teenagers that I like to hear. The way she said it so non-chalantly reminded me a lot of my teenage daughter. I remember when she first got her schedule this year (she’s an honors sophomore so she has a lot of Advanced Placement classes). Man oh man….the drama when she was telling me how much work she’d have. “Ma, do you know how tired I’m going to be every day with this schedule. And I still have my New York Cares and dance, and…..etc etc etc”. Just the other day, she told me about something else she’s now taking on and I reminded her of that conversation…lol.
It gave me hope to hear this young girl trying to speak life into her friends. One of them even said she hadn’t been to school all week and this young lady asked “and what have you been doing all week that’s more important than you going to school”. That’s something my daughter would say : ). Apparently this girl is on the track team at her school so the conversation eventually led to one of the other girls asking her if she wanted to be a track star. Her answer was yes and she proceeded to talk about wanting to make it to State competition since she had already made City. It was really good to hear the younger generation talk about goals they have and doing the necessary work to get there. That is the mindset of teenagers that we need more of.
Having set goals and keeping them in sight are so important. It’s what keeps you going. I know of so many people who start something with a goal in mind, invest time and money into it but then end up quitting (more so on themselves than the venture) because it’s not as easy as they thought it would be or it’s not growing as fast as they’d like it to. Well let me tell you this….nothing comes easy and everything takes work. That’s why in my business I always let people know that results are not typical because not everyone is willing to do the work. We have an income disclosure that shows daily average income earned but I’ve never seen it because I don’t consider myself to be average. Although a lot of people may say they aren’t average either, you show otherwise when you quit. Actions speak louder that words. Talk about it or be about it? Which direction are you taking?
Back to our teenagers….
It scares me when I listen and hear the mindset of most teenagers and it makes me wonder what the heck is going on. I remember when I was a teenager (which really wasn’t that long ago…lol 😉 ) it was a regular thing to hear my classmates talk about the things they wanted to do going forward in life. Not everyone, but most had a goal. The mindset of teenagers was different back then. Now I know a lot has changed with all the technology, etc but somewhere along the way, something went wrong. I know that some kids stray away from what they’re taught but no matter what, I still and will always say….it all starts at home. Our children mimic actions that they see, words that they hear, etc etc. So without a doubt, needless to say that your future is in your hands, literally, starting with the children you bring into the world.
What examples are you setting for the people of our future? What are your thoughts on the mindset of teenagers you are in contact with whether it be your own child, a niece or nephew or someone you come into contact with in your daily travels? I’d like to know so leave me your comments below.
Live life….love life….and have fun doing it. You only get one chance!!
~Tina Rhodie
“Divergent Mom-Preneur”
Work-With-Tina.com
P.S. You hear about it everyday…You even see the stories on your Facebook feed. But, are the stories true? Are people really making 5 to 6 figures per month working from home? Take a quick look inside and tell me what you think. (Results NOT Typical….see income disclosure here) Discount ends Friday, February 13th @ midnight. Stop wasting time 🙂
Don’t forget to leave me your comments and share this post 😉
Isn’t it amazing how you can tell right away what kind of atmosphere children and teens have been around growing up– The one’s who are surrounded by positive–the key is carrying that throughout life and maximizing it!
And for the others who have not been as fortunate– it is up to them to find it and recalibrate their mindset!
This is an awesome post, Tina, and one that speaks to me. I have four daughters, three of them in their teens (16, 15, and 13). My 21-year-old is in college and is doing exceptionally well (majoring in geochemistry of all things, too!).
They ALL have future goals and plans and hate when they miss a day of school because it sets them back. I couldn’t be more proud of them. Yes, it makes us mothers smile when we see and hear teenagers who get that THEY are our future. Thanks for sharing.
Hello Tina, pleasure reading your post…living here in NYC is marvelous. There is so much going in the mind of these teenagers, sometime is scary, but other time as you mentioned is a great feeling that because of those few, we will a great future ahead. thanks