How to Plant the Seed of Ambition in A Child

Many people today, especially our children, seem to lack the self confidence to try anything new. It is simpler to just go with the flow and allow life to happen, watching others win awards and make the honor roll.

How can we turn the tide and begin (again) to raise children with a healthy view of themselves, ready and anxious to make their mark in the world?

One of the ways to change a person's attitude towards life, is to treat them as if they are the person you want them to be.

For instance, if your child is struggling with authority, rebelling against his/her parents, teachers and others, seemingly oblivious to punishment, then it is time to put another teaching tactic into play.

The first step is to imagine that child as being the person you know they can be. This may take some work on the part of the parents because of past experiences.

Think of it as a meditation or an experiment with visualization. Imagine the child behaving as perfectly as you would like... without losing their sense of individuality. In other words, imagine them as having healthy emotions, desires and needs. You don't want to imagine them as little robots, dutifully performing their chores, although that would be nice. You want to imagine them more like little birds, getting ready to leave the nest and fly on their own.

The second step is to start treating the child as if they already are that person you have visualized. This means you must ignore the reality, and react to the imaginary. Treat your child as if he/she is the best thing since sliced bread. When done consistently and with the appropriate affirmations of love, pride and joy, the results will amaze you.

Show the child how happy you are to have been blessed with the gift of their life.

Treat a person as if you expect the worse from them, and that is what you will get.

Likewise, treat them with respect and show them that you have confidence in their abilities, and you will see a new person that has been hiding inside of them.

Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are. The problem is that many people today have decided that they can only be good at one subject in school, or only good in sports, or music, or whatever their favorite activity is. They have lost the desire to excel at many things because they see so many others already being successful in their favorite activity. The typical response is, "Johnny does it better than me, so why try?"

It is up to us to teach the children well. Self confidence and ambition should be high on the list of priorities when teaching our children well.