Be All You Can Be

 By: Dr. James B Wood

Maximizing Your Potential

Thoughts for children about 10 years and older

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My thoughts on this subject crystalized after reading about a teenager who fell into an open manhole into raw sewage while texting. Like texting is more important than knowing where you are going!

Somewhere around 10 years of age a child should have some idea of what they want to do with their lives. I don’t expect a 10 year old to know a specific job or occupation, but at least in what direction their interests lie. If the answer is: “I don’t have a clue,” then it is about time to start catching a few clues. After all, it is hard to make serious choices about anything when you don’t know what direction you would like your life to take you.

We all suffer from distractions from goal directed actions. Common distractions in this young age group are TV and electronic media including video games, cell phones, especially with texting, and ipods. For some reason these activities become addicting. I call this Technocancer. This typoe of activity cannont be allowed to control one’s life. I would like to suggest a common sense approach to balance in life. For every hour one watched TV or engages in electronic media activities, there should be an hour of free reading and there should also be an hour of some type of physical exercise or directed activity such as scouting, 4H, music/dance, etc. This suggestion essentially divides free time into thirds. This is a good balance.

One last thought is born out by research and interview with successful people. Achievement and success in life is directly proportional to the number of books read by an individual. It doesn’t really matter what books, just total number of books. This demonstrates an ongoing quest for knowledge. Knowledge is a very important aspect of being a successful person.

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