The Forgotten Ones…

What if we are missing out on a better tomorrow because we leave the development of our adolescent potential to social media companies…

In this image is why I love working with and am fascinated by the stage of a human life that spans pre-adolesence (9-11) and the teenage years of 12-18. Why?Because so much is possible at this stage of our lives. But also, so much can go awry. So much can go wrong because of what is not done at this stage. And I feel we often as neglect this stage. We do so at our peril. This is the stage when many hard to ever change behaviours become embedded. I see it in the 20 somethings and older that I work with.

They can often trace back to their teenage years when they started to get lost. And what they needed most and often did not get was a role model (a positive one). It didn't need to be a parent or a relative. They just needed someone who saw something in them and guided them. Those that got it flourished. Those that didn't often got lost and either never tapped into the well of potential within them or got depressed because they saw no hope and nothing within to be proud of. And this calcified into anger. Then they got even with the world they felt had abandoned them. These young people often feel like the ‘forgotten ones’. I was fortunate to have some great role models, older brothers, a hard working father. Good women in my life also that guided me without knowing it. But many young people are not so lucky.

Anyways, the next time you see a bunch of teenagers being noisy or hanging around in groups try and remember what it was like to be one of them.