My friend Sridhar has been behind me with this question – what are the CORE
VALUES one should develop in one’s child?
One of the day a father in geniekids told a lie to his child who was unwilling
to leave, “Uncle is closing office, so let’s go” – which wasn’t true! What is
the point of developing conventional values if we are all going to anyway follow
them out of convenience later?
So what values will I teach my child? Here is myFIVE MUST-HAVElist:
1. The value of Experimentation (or Trying)
I will let my child, who is a born experimenter, keep trying different things in
life. The more the child tries, the more the child explores. The more the child
explores that more the child learns. The more the child learns, the more the
child gathers raw material and tools for life! I will let him fail and treat
every failure with as much regard as success and just keep trying.
2. The value of Consciousness (or feelings)
I would teach my child to be conscious of his or her feelings. Let my awareness
of my feelings be a guide to what I should do and what I should not do. If I am
aware of my feelings, my behavior becomes more regulated and my days become more rewarding and joyous.
3. The value of Reflection (or thought)
When I think through a situation, when I reflect back on what I did and when I
introspect as to what happened I learn how to learn. I learn to make better
decisions, I learn to progress and grow, I develop WISDOM.
4.The value of Openness (or being non-judgmental)
We stop our thinking, we limit ourselves, when we form opinions, when we make
assumptions, when we jump to conclusions, when we make preconceived notions and mental blocks about things and people, including ourselves. We open multiple pathways of growth and happiness when we move away from good or bad, from right or wrong, from judgments, rather work from the objective of being effective and constantly improving through being flexible.
5. The value of Strength (or passion)
We can’t possibly cut effectively from the blunt side of our knife.. There is
also little point in trying to sharpen the blunt edge. I would rather sharpen my
sharp edge and to make it more incisive. Then with minimum effort I can create
maximum effect. I will also teach the child the value of constantly sharpening
the knife.
More than teaching about honesty, responsibility, loyalty, humility, justice, respect etc,I would rather teach children the above five and let them
experience, understand and choose whichever values they want to use to lead their own life with honor and happiness.
By Ratnesh & Aditi Mathur
Forwww.aarohilife.org