My life was radically changed when I read a book titled “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell. This book is a must read for every parent.
We all have an illusion that geniuses are born that way. We believe that some are born with a greater IQ than the others and that makes them better than their peers. I believe that some people have higher IQs, but I don’t believe that’s all you need to succeed. Malcom Gladwell in his book highlights how culture, family, generation we are born and our upbringing affect how we eventually turn out.
He explains that if you put two children, one with a very high IQ and another child with an average IQ in two separate scenarios. If the child with the high IQ is not nurtured or motivated or stimulated, the high IQ in him is useless, he doesn’t end up being great. But this child with an average IQ, if he is nurtured in the right environment, surrounded with teachers, motivated and stimulated, he ends up being greater in life than the person with the high IQ.
I also learnt the 10,000 hour principle. It simply means that those who are the master of anything have spent at least 10,000 hours practicing or applying themselves to that art.
What am I saying? Geniuses are not born, they are made. Your child can be a genius. The mistakes parents make at first is not even taking time to study their children and realize what their unique gifting are. When you realize that, it is your responsibility to harness that gift until they are the absolute best in it. It is up to you to discover your child’s unique learning pattern and work with them to achieve the very best for their lives.
The Asians grow rice and it’s a tedious process. They are awake a long while before dawn out on the farm. There’s a Chinese proverb that says that ‘No one who wakes a long while before dawn will have his family go hungry.” Rice planting, because of its tedious nature makes the Asians a tenacious people. They don’t have the luxury of three months summer holiday. Their children are in school almost all year. Is it surprising then, that they are good at math, a subject that requires tenacity and endurance? Their culture naturally endows them with that attribute.
But, I can’t change Nigeria’s school calendar or move to Japan, because I want that trait in my child. I can however cultivate it in my children from an early age. A simple example; my son takes his time to assimilate information. He can be a bit laid back but when he gets it, it sticks for life. I found out that being laid back could transcend to laziness. So, I began to apply the principle of tenacity. I stopped letting him go so easily and started working on the principle of endurance. He had to learn to sit at something until he got it. He could take a break but he had to come back till he got it. Guess what? It worked. He feels so good when he gets it that he wants to do it all over again. He’s learning not to give up.
I’m simply saying that we are letting our children go too easily. Children should be allowed to be children, but the earlier they learn about hard work, diligence, practice, endurance and perseverance, the better for all involved. No true star gets away without practice; singers, football players, tennis players, mathematicians, business people. Truly great people have mastered these attributes.
There’s a genius in every child. Your duty as a parent is to harness that seed so that your child can be truly great.
Contributed by Sola Agudah
Photo Source: nydailynews
