In our contemporary, swiftly evolving world, the looming question for parents and guardians remains: “What should we teach our children?” The advent of technology, with its expansive reach and impact on employment, leaves us pondering on the skills and attributes we should be instilling in our future generations. While our jests about computers usurping all our jobs abound, there’s a thread of truth entwined in them that we cannot ignore.
Here’s an insider’s view from someone with a technical background: computers, despite their advanced capabilities, lack the intrinsic ability to set goals autonomously. And therein lies a pivotal skill that our children can and should master – goal-setting. If they’re to navigate successfully through the future, where artificial intelligence plays an integral role, they need to become adept at establishing objectives, not only for themselves but potentially for our ‘computer overlords’ as well.
In contrast to our ancestors, whose goals were fundamentally tethered to survival and procreation, the modern era affords us the luxury of choice regarding our ambitions and dreams. Unlike them, we aren’t constrained to a mere pair of objectives. But does that mean we should rigidly prescribe our goals to our offspring? A resounding “no” echoes the answer. Transferring goals from one generation to the next is not a seamless or particularly effective process.
The pivotal aspect to cascade down to our children is not our goals but our values and priorities. There’s a plethora of theories suggesting that our goal-setting processes are inherently intertwined with our values and priorities. Thus, inculcating these core values in our children becomes paramount.
Starting a process of introspection to identify the values you wish to convey and exemplify for your children is imperative. This isn’t a solitary endeavor and should ideally involve your partner, ensuring a unified front in the values presented to your children. It’s interesting to note that religious beliefs can sometimes offer a framework of predetermined values for those who adhere to them. It’s not a necessity to be religious, but for those floundering in the sea of uncertainty regarding values, it can offer a semblance of direction.
To kickstart your introspection, jot down values that resonate deeply with you, such as honesty, freedom, and compassion, and prioritize them according to their significance in your life. Recollect instances when you felt a surge of fulfillment or sheer happiness, and identify the values that were being honored during those moments.
Here are a few values, along with some evaluation methods to contemplate upon:
- Empathy: The capacity to comprehend and share another person’s experiences and emotions. How have moments of empathy shaped your actions and relationships?
- Resilience: An invaluable attribute that equips one to rebound from adversities stronger. Consider instances where your resilience has been tested and what that taught you about its worth.
- Integrity: Staying true to moral and ethical principles. Reflect on situations where your integrity was challenged and how you responded.
- Generosity: The readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or expected. Recount times where acts of generosity (yours or others) have left a lasting impact on you.
Utilizing experiences such as journaling, where you document daily reflections, and life mapping, where you create a visual representation of your life’s significant events, can also facilitate this reflective process. Engage in mindful meditation or prayer to achieve mental clarity, enabling you to discern and recognize your core values with greater ease.
Crafting a family mission statement can also serve as a tangible embodiment of the values you aspire to instill in your children, weaving a cohesive thread through each member’s endeavors and life choices. Consider it a compass, orienting your family towards unified objectives and values, offering guidance through life’s myriad decisions and dilemmas. Convene as a family to discuss and define the values that resonate collectively, ensuring each voice, irrespective of age, is acknowledged and valued. It’s an inclusive approach where each family member can identify and express their individual values, molding them into a collective family charter. This mission statement becomes a constant, gentle reminder of the principles that your family holds dear, serving as a guiding light in times of ethical dilemmas and moral crossroads. It may even transcend being a mere document, evolving into a living testament of your family’s beliefs, nurtured continuously through discussions, reflections, and collective actions. So, while your children traverse through various life stages, this statement serves as a steadfast moral and ethical reference point, continually reinforcing the familial values and beliefs that will ultimately shape their personal goal-setting mechanisms and life trajectories. And in times of inevitable familial disputes or disagreements, referring back to your family mission statement can facilitate resolutions that align with your shared values, ensuring harmony and unity amidst diversity and change.
Passing values to our children ensures they’re equipped with a moral compass to navigate through life, informing their decisions, actions, and ultimately, the goals they set for themselves. So, while the world evolves and technology advances, our children, fortified with strong values, can steadfastly progress, ensuring they don’t just survive but thrive in the future that awaits them.
Remember, while we, as parents, are instrumental in shaping our children’s values, it’s crucial to provide them with the autonomy to mold their goals, enabling them to carve out their path in this ever-changing world. And perhaps, they might just teach us a thing or two in return.