Most of us grew up being told to follow our dreams, no matter where they might lead us. Unfortunately, more often than not, people tend to get stuck in a rut that they can’t seem to escape from. Whether it be because of debt, work, family or any other factor, we usually end up putting our own dreams to the side while telling our kids to chase their dreams instead.
We all had these dreams when we were kids, so what happened?
No one helped turn our passion into purpose.
While it’s never to late to pursue your own passion, I’m going to give you five easy steps that will let you help your kid not only find their passion, but make it a reality.
1. Define their passion
Defining your own passion might be difficult. You might not know what it is or you might be too embarrassed to say it. Kids, however, don’t suffer from the same problem.
Imagination and excitement come naturally to kids, so helping them find their passion just needs a little guidance. If you need help finding what your child is passionate about, check out our article for some tips.
What’s important to remember when defining passion is to keep your own negativity out of the process. Putting purpose to passion doesn’t always mean creating a future career for your kid. It might turn out like that, but working towards something that really excites them helps kids with discovery and growth.
Work with your child, figure out what they are passionate about, help them articulate it and write it down.
2. Share their passion
Get your kid excited about this new journey. Have them share their passion with friends and family. Let them keep track of their progress on social media. Record their milestones so you can look back on it later and reflect on their hard work.
But don’t think that sharing is just about showing that work. Share the skills that your child develops or already has, thanks to their passion. Show them how skills from sports, writing, video making, speaking or crafting can be applied in different areas of their lives. This will make the purpose behind their passion even more real.
3. Adopt a growth mindset
In order to turn passion into purpose, both you and your child have to adopt a growth mindset.
A growth mindset is an open mind, one that seeks challenges, accepts criticism and learns from failure. It’s a mindset that encourages creativity, innovation and learning. Best of all, it’s a mindset that builds confidence in children.
Turning passion into purpose isn’t easy. It’s going to have its ups and downs. There will be successes and there will be setbacks. But embracing a growth mindset is one of the most important steps to realizing your child’s passion.
4. Set SMART goals
Goal setting is an essential part of any plan. If you want to work towards something, you need to have goals. Not just any goals, either, but SMART goals.
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Action-Oriented, Realistic and Time-Based. They are goals that you can track and see progress in, goals that are more likely to be achieved, and goals that build a growth mindset.
Setting SMART goals isn’t easy, though. Check out our article on this proven technique before you set your own.
More than any other plan, SMART goals will help turn your child’s passion into purpose.
5. Don’t give up
Even if they have a growth mindset and clear goals, your child will still come across some rough patches when pursuing their passion. There will be times when they want to quit or when they think that they don’t enjoy their passion anymore.
You or their life coach are more important than ever at this point. Help them through the difficult times, but don’t do the work for them. Letting them overcome their own obstacles is one of the best ways to help your child grow and to see their own progress.
By helping your child find the purpose from their passion, you will open them up to new ideas, experiences and skills. They might end up pursuing another passion or they might stick with this one for a long time. They might make a career out of it or a fun side-hustle.
Whatever the case, let your child chase their dreams and help them find the purpose they need to get there.