One of the most important qualities we can help our children acquire is what used to be called stick-to-itive-ness. This is the ability to commit oneself to something important and then see that goal through to completion. It is a quality which is seriously lacking in many Americans today, especially in our young people.
The world is filled with people who possess great potential. But because they lack stick-to-itive-ness very few ever reach anywhere near their true capabilities.
Those who possess or acquire this most important of qualities should be allowed to live full, happy, successful lives. On the other hand, those who fail to develop stick-to- itive-ness are often doomed to lives filled with pain and failure.
The minds of children are naturally very mobile. They move rapidly from subject to subject. Although this can sometimes be frustrating to adults, a young child’s rapid boredom with things is what allows him or her to discover important facts about the world around him or her. It is a necessary part of their mental growth.
As a child reaches school age, he or she must develop the ability to focus for varying lengths of time onto subjects which are not of their own choosing. If they can’t do this, they will encounter many difficulties both academically and socially.
Some are fortunate enough to be born with this quality. But, for most children, it must be instilled – or trained – in them. The earlier a child is able to acquire it, the better.
Many parents today unwittingly teach their children to become highly successful at failing.
If you allow your child to quit the things he or she undertakes, then you teach him or her to become a successful quitter, to throw in the towel whenever things get tough, become slightly boring, or his or her interest starts to wan.
If your child develops this habit, as a huge number of American children do, then you will help produce a child who can’t possibly achieve success either now or as an adult.
If, on the other hand, you require your child to stick with things and see them through to completion, then you develop in him or her one of the major qualities necessary to achieve happiness and success in life. You produce a child skilled in success, not a child skilled in failure.
I believe that many of the qualities which your child will learn at Kyoshin Ryu Karate Academy – including stick-to-itive-ness – are critically important in today’s world and may not be available to him or her anywhere else. As such, it is very important that your child’s instructors have your assistance.
The way you can be of the greatest help to both them and your child is to ensure that he or she attends class on a regular basis and that he or she remains within their program at least to completion.
Also, if you should ever encounter any problems related to any of these, be sure to let your child’s instructor know so that we can move quickly to help remedy the problem. With your help, we should be able to assist your child develop the skills necessary to achieve success in life.