Personality or Attitude
I think there’s a fine line between these two. However, it is not an illegible line to those who chose to look for it. Temperament, make-up, nature are a few synonyms of the the word personality; The combination of characteristics or qualities that form an individual’s distinctive character as defined by oxforddictionaries.com.
While Attitude ( Manner,frame of mind,) is defined as a settled way of thinking or feeling about something.
How can we tell the difference between these two as we support our children’s development into well-rounded, positive, successful, world-changing adults?
In a situation how can decipher the labels? “This is just the way she is” from “This is not the right attitude”.
One of them is malleable ( attitude) and the other not so much( personality). You are who you are. One can be observed and imbibed ( attitude) while the other is static and inherent. ( personality) Attitude can determine whether or not one becomes whom they were meant to be.
I remember two of John Maxwell sayings: “Often our attitude is the only difference between success and failure” OR“Our attitude at the beginning of a task will affect its outcome more than anything else”.
You see, this whole thing about attitude doesn’t just happen to a person. It begins to develop as a child and by the time the child becomes an adult, it becomes full grown with deep roots that are almost impossible to dig out except with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Raising children with the right attitude every time is crucial and possible especially when you remember that it WILL impact on their lives positively or negatively. You need to constantly play ‘spot the difference.’ Attitude can make the difference between who gets chosen in school for exciting projects or not, between who gets to represent the school at events or not and it goes on and on throughout the life of an individual. Being the most intelligent does not automatically convert to being the one given the most opportunities. Attitude will contribute to reputation. It will also help set the course for a child’s relationship with tutors, coaches, teachers, and later in life, business partners, bosses and clients.
A few examples:Personality: Calm, introverted, Extroverted, Reflective, Quiet etcAttitude: Brash, Polite, Respectful, Discipline, Motivated, Courageous, Rude, Hardworking, Lazy …
This list is endless. A positive attitude helps a child in the continuous development of the growth mindset; believing that a person’s abilities and talents can be developed by sticking it out and applying good methods.
So how can you help your child develop the right attitude towards their school work, towards their learning, towards house chores, towards failure, towards challenges, towards a difficult person? In other words, Emotional intelligence ( watch out for my next blog post on Emotional Intelligence for Kids)
Goal Setting and Achievements. Help your child set goals. Better if it is in pictures then it becomes imprinted on their minds. A vision board maybe?
Keeping a Journal Recording moments when they enjoyed success or experienced something they love or recording an event that has left an impression.
Daily Confession Something written that ties in with their goals. Whilst vision boards help them visualise, daily confessions help them cement what they see through the power of words. The more the say these things about who they want to become and want they want to achieve drawn from the word of God.
( Coming soon for kids aged 3-12 watch this space)
Create The Right Environment The home setting has a huge impact what a child becomes. Be a positive parent. Laugh, share love and show affection, be kind to other people, exhibit restraint, help the needy, elderly, try not to complain, keep to your words. Basically, exhibit the fruit of the Spirit. The best type of attitude pack anywhere. Take every opportunity you find to teach your child these things.
We are all work in progress and God’s grace and the Holy Spirit are always available.
To your intentional parenting journey.
Much Love,
JOY
