How to Help Kids Find Their Passion

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Note: I'm going to clear out some time to read Flow in the coming weeks as well as some of his other books found here.  I am so excited about this I'm doing a happy dance right now! Creativity is almost as important to me as my heartbeat.

We should know our children better than anyone else, but it seems that the craziness of life often gets in the way.  I make it my point to study my child. I want him to avoid wasting his time pursuing things that really don’t suit him.  Let's use sports as an example.  He tried soccer at age four. He loved it the first year, but each season became less and less enjoyable for him. He “retired” from the sport when he was six years old. He was an excellent soccer player with skills and stamina, but he didn’t like it. So, the following spring, he tried lacrosse and loved it. Then in the fall, he found his “flow” with football. He is an overall excellent athlete no matter the sport, but football is where his passions lie.  Had I made him stay with soccer, I would have missed the opportunity to witness his football abilities and joy playing the sport.  He’s even interested in playing football in the spring which means that lacrosse and his $300 dollars’ worth of equipment will take a back seat for now.  He assured me that he'll pick it back up when he's in middle school.


Another area where he is in his flow is while he is drawing and sculpting.  He sits for hours drawing, but will only play a video game for the requisite 15 minutes.  The average attention span is 15 minutes, but when we are in our flow, "time doesn’t exist." What activities does your child do for long periods of time?  Don’t say watch TV! We all are guilty of that one.  There are some other activities in which your child becomes enthralled. Take note. That activity just may be the thing that will make him millions while fulfilled and possibly blessing others.  I’ve posted a TED talk about flow. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi: Flow, The Secret to Happiness. The video is also found here.

I related to the speaker more than I could have ever imagined. When I’m writing, time doesn’t exist. I will sit down to write and the next thing I know it’s 3 hours later. If I don’t write, I miss my characters. I wonder what they’re up to.  Anyway, once you notice your child’s “flow” activity, give them opportunities to hone their skills.  Give them the tools they need to experience this wonderful space. I signed my son up for two art camps this summer, and of course we are in the middle of football season right now. I signed him up for a speed and agility afterschool activity this fall as well. There are always a plethora of art supplies available to him.

I think back to when I was eight years old deciding my future by stating that I wanted to be a pediatrician based on an interview I conducted with my pediatrician. I couldn’t stand the sight of mucus or blood, but I was going to be a doctor. I sat in my room for hours designing clothes and hairstyles, but doctor was my career choice.  I took photographs and won awards for my photography, but doctor it was.  I wrote and illustrated books and won awards for them, but there was no turning back from a declaration I made when I was a mere eight years old.  O, had my parents and I known about flow back then.  I would be a fashion journalist. But, it’s never too late, and the fact that I’ve been through twists and turns with my career, makes me all the better suited to help students make wise decisions about their career track.  Let's study our children, witness when they're in flow, and help them hone those skills. Simple, right?  Help them intermingle the practical with their passions and success is inevitable!