The importance of habits is something that all of us know all too well. Positive habits can make your life while negative can ruin it. Developing positive habits early in your life can help you function better later in life.
Which is why it is important to teach and inculcate good habits in your kids. If your kid is struggling in an area then take steps to help them rectify it. You know what their weak points are, the next step naturally is to start making changes to turn those weaknesses into strengths. One step to doing this is reinforcing good habits without it being a strain on the kids.
Introducing good habits in their life needs sheer determination and consistency from your side as well. They are kids, they don’t understand the importance of practice and routine. The kind of habits you inculcate in them since their childhood will dictate the quality of their life. The way you live your life has a huge impact on how you work, so it is obvious that how you work has a huge impact on your success.
“Your beliefs become your thoughts; Your thoughts become your words; Your words become your actions; Your actions become your habits; Your habits become your values; Your values become your destiny.” -Mahatma Gandhi
Our habits have the power to change the narrative of our lives. They directly contribute to the outcome of the work we do, the progress we make. It is crucial to recognize the areas we need to work on and then find ways to make it right.
It is also in your and your child’s best interest to create habits that will help them attain your goals. These habits have to be developed by identifying the various ways which will be used to achieve your end goal – like said before, turn your weaknesses into strengths.
Healthy Reinforcement is a great way to make a new habit stick around and also get work done – use rewards as rewards work well with children who cannot yet see the big picture. Rewards are a sure way of getting work done because it gives them something to look forward to at the end of the task, it can be their favorite snack or an extra hour of TV.
It is a sweet driving force. When you can see something for yourself in the end, you feel more motivated to complete the work. Children are no different because they do not understand the importance of habits or the way they shape their lives, it becomes necessary for them to see a gain that they understand.
Incentives or rewards are a great way to motivate yourself to finish the task at hand. When you have something to look forward to, it becomes easier to run the last mile. When you work on developing a habit or learning a new skill, the results aren’t often quick.
No sight of results can dim your mood, and you can feel demotivated, everything can seem pointless. Kids anyway have a shorter attention span. You have to avoid that feeling, and that can be done by setting rewards for your kids for completing a difficult task or achieving a small milestone.
Trust me; it will work like a charm for the things your kid needs that little extra push to the finish. This motivation is the most lucrative one to oneself. You can use the same trick for yourself too. The activity that you usually do to procrastinate can be used as a reward instead – killing two birds with one stone.
“Sow a thought, and you reap and act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap destiny.” -Samuel Smiles
