Although self-motivation cannot be taught, it can be encouraged. Teaching kids to develop healthy, positive habits at a young age is step 1 to instilling self-motivation in them. Before you groan and hair-pull at the thought of giving another life lesson, use some of these tricks to work with your kiddos on their self-motivation habits.
1) Keep Things Positive
Monkey see monkey do. If you’re always optimistic, your kids will likely follow suit and develop a positive outlook on life.
2) Empower Your Kids to Do What Makes Them Happy
They may not want to do homework, but they have to. To counter the dreaded things, empower them to engage in their interests and try out new hobbies and activities. They’ll thank you later for instilling a sense of balance in their life.
3) Teach Them to Be Persistent
If you only praise your kids when they win or succeed at something, they will lose sight of the fact that persistence is a key ingredient of self-motivation. Show them that it may take a few tries but that it’s worth it when all is said and done.
4) Show them that Success is Possible
Your children will feel empowered to work harder and generate more motivation from within if they feel like success is within their reach. Don’t give them freebies but offer them opportunities so that they will feel like they succeeded because of their efforts.
5) Accept and Understand their Learning Style
Not all kids learn the same way. If your kid has a unique learning style, he or she may sometimes feel like a failure for learning differently from others. Understand how your kids learn and reassure them that every learning approach is great.
6) Don’t Forget to Celebrate
Kids love parties and celebrations of all kinds. When they show signs of being self-motivated, acknowledge that with a mini celebration.
7) Teach them How to Deal with Failure
Failure presents you and your children with a learning opportunity that can shape their work ethics. When your kids are hit with failure, teach them how to embrace it as a learning lesson – not defeat, but a goal to work harder for next time.
8) Encourage Their Interests
Kids are dreamers. They have unadulterated views on the world to the point that nothing is getting in their way sometimes. If they’re passionate about something, empower them to pursue it. Show them that their interests are respected and should be nurtured.
