Self-Devpt. Nuggets™

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." – Albert Einstein

Remember The Above Quote EVERY Single Time You Think About Your Child

When your child does not perform well in school, sports or any area of life, relative to his/her peers.

When s/he fails to demonstrate proficiency in vocations that his/her siblings excel in.

ALWAYS remind yourself of that powerful quote credited to Einstein.

Einstein was one of the greatest minds/achievers to ever grace this planet with his presence.

Most people know that.

Some may however not know that he generally displayed intolerance – even impatience – with traditional schooling systems.

He saw the defects in the teaching system employed in traditional schools. He did not enjoy learning that way (more on that later).

How is Your Child Being Judged By You and/or Others…in Your Family or Elsewhere?

It’s important to control the environment in which a child grows up with respect to how s/he is “evaluated” on a daily basis.

Like I said in a past article, there are hundreds of different intelligences.

Not everyone will have the kind of intelligence that will make him/her an academic genius for instance.

If you really think of it, some of the people who make this world turn round with their genius would be lost if asked to discuss anything academic.

For some it will be intelligence in the use of the different parts of their bodies e.g. the feet (for sprinters and footballers), the mouth (for singers) etc.

Think About Some of The Great Professional Footballers We’ve Known

I’m not sure I want to know what Diego Maradona scored in Mathematics as a student. Or if Jay-Jay Okocha was good in Algebra!!!

Such subjects have no relevance to the genius of these 2 mentioned achievers.

The club and national team coaches do not ask for school certificates or university degrees to decide who gets to play in the team.

It’s your demonstrated "ingenuity" on the pitch that counts.

D’banj, one of Nigeria’s current international music superstars once sang about how he followed his passion for music, against his father’s wishes.

“I read, read, read, but book no gree enter my head” (singing in pidgin English).

Literal translation: “I tried my best, but just could not make anything of studying in school”.

Well, today no one can correctly argue that he took the wrong path.

He’s apparently a genius at what he does, and he obviously enjoys it. And that’s what matters in life at the end of the day.

The examples I’ve used are not exhaustive.

This Thinking Needs to Be Applied to All Areas of Life

For instance, your child’s choice of course to major in at university.

The fact that you and his siblings all majored in Engineering, does not mean s/he has to.

That’s why we have people who say "I studied XYZ because my father wanted me to".

Sometimes it’s because the parents wanted someone with that qualification in the family, to handle an aspect of the family business.

If the child happens to like the idea, there will be no issues.

However, if s/he displays ineptitude, that seems to derive from a lack of real interest, compared to a sibling, or a friend’s child, DO NOT put him/her down for it.

That could be a sign that s/he is not cut out for that kind of vocation.

The smart thing to do would be to help him/her find what works for her, in way that s/he can still contribute to the family’s joint goal.

Not to conclude s/he’s not "smart" enough…or that s/he;s not as good as the others.

Find your passion and purpose, and pursue it, till you succeed. Then take it to the next level…again and again!

Do that for yourself. But even if you don’t do it for yourself, at least help your child do it for him/herself.

Remind yourself that s/he is one-of-a-kind, and will have areas where s/he will also excel effortlessly (same applies to YOU, by the way).

Your role as a parent is to guide him/her to discover his/her genius in that regard.

And that may end up being something s/he can do that the world has never seen.

Imagine if Lionel Messi had been forced to finish his schooling FIRST, before his parents let him/her explore his passion and develop his amazing footballing talent?

Or if Fela Anikulapo-Kuti – the late legendary Afro Beat Musician – had not gone ahead – against his parents’ wishes – to enroll and study music on arriving in London?

What about if Thomas Edison’s mother had not defiantly withdrawn him from school, to begin "home schooling" him herself.

This was AFTER his teachers announced to her that his brain was "addled" and that he could not possibly do well, being so "retarded"??!

It turned out that Edison had problems in school, because his mind could not adopt rote learning aka "cramming" required in the traditional schooling system.

He had a highly developed creative thinking ability. As a result, his mind rejected the attempt to make him what Robert Kiyosaki has called a "mindless parrot"!

No wonder he invented the light bulb, and went on file 1093 patents for his inventions!

So, be careful about how much importance you attach to what others (teachers or otherwise) tell you about your child’s ability and potential.

Realize that they are just human. People with poor self images abound in society. They discount others

An "Olodo" (poor performer) in one field can be a genius in another.

Each one of us is born with a unique ability i.e. a genius.

Find yours – or at least make sure you help your child find his/hers.

We cannot all be equally good at the same things.

The creator would never make such a ridiculous mistake!

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