In this case, I’m not talking about gym class.
Flexibility has a lot to do with the growth mindset that I’ve talked about earlier. We need to see ourselves and others as able to change and grow. Our teens are in the middle of going through so many changes in their lives that helping them learn and internalize this is critical. Being flexible also has a lot to do with being imaginative, creative, and innovative.
Many people will see these three terms as the same thing, but there are significant differences. Our teens need to be taught all three to enhance their flexibility. They will all contribute to their success in the future.
Imagination is being able to see the impossible. This is where the growth mindset comes in. When we were teens, we couldn’t imagine having all the technology that we have today. Someone did at some point, though. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have it. Teaching our kids to imagine the impossible is the first step at making it possible.
Have your kids ponder and wonder at things.
Take the time to let them just think.
And then let them be creative. How could your child’s impossible ideas become possible? What needs to be invented to bring about the things they have imagined?
Everyone is creative in some way. Too often, we think of creativity and art as the same thing. But thinking creatively is something everyone can do. How is your child creative? Do they know? Is it obvious?
My fourth son is a creative debater. He loves to argue and is very good at it. As his mother, this was a challenge (I’m sure some of you can relate). I had the choice of getting mad at him for arguing or seeing this as a gift he had. I chose the latter. There were several times that I had to take him aside and let him know that there were times to share this creative gift with his brothers as well as times, not to.
Many times, others have already started on something that someone can add to, to make their imaginations come true. They have to innovate and build on other people’s ideas. One of my favorite quotes is from Isaac Newton:
“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Newton was able to use the information that others before him had discovered. Through this knowledge, he was able to help us all see further. He was an innovator.
We don’t know what the world will look like when our kids are adults. Helping them learn to be flexible will allow them to meet the future head-on and adapt to what is needed.