As parents and teachers, one of our goals is to help our children and our students achieve their dreams and to succeed in whatever path they’ve chosen.
We know that listening to our kids while showing them care and respect can help them feel safe to pursue their dreams in a supportive atmosphere.
And while we’re ready to cheer them on, we’ve also got to equip them by teaching them the qualities they need to reach their goals.
So, what are the traits that kids need to have in order to make their dreams a reality?
Here are five key qualities:
1. A Clear Goal
Most kids have a series of occupations they dream of doing, or a list of things they hope to do, and those dreams can change over time. That’s to be expected.
Having a long-term vision sometimes happens at an early age but may not happen until adulthood (if it ever does!).
Once a child is passionate about following a specific path though, he/she can start taking small but concrete steps to work towards that goal.
2. Hard Work
It’s one thing to have a dream, and an entirely different thing to achieve it. To move the dream from a wish to a goal, kids need to be willing to put in the work required to be successful.
That might mean taking classes, attending some kind of training, or practicing a skill each day.
Kids need to realize that thinking about a dream is only the first of many steps. Reaching a goal takes effort and lots of hard work.
3. Perseverance
Showing determination by working towards a goal step by step and day by day, builds consistency and discipline. Those traits help the child move closer to realizing his/her dream.
Abraham Lincoln once said, “Commitment is what transforms a promise into a reality.”
4. Resilience
Let’s face it, failure is simply a part of life. We’ve all experienced it from time to time. In fact, ask any successful person you know and he/she will most likely be able to tell you stories about experiencing failure in his/her journey too.
Failure can be difficult and discouraging, but if it is not able to defeat us, we still have another chance to succeed. The ability to be resilient, to get up and start again, is crucial for experiencing success.
5. Confidence
One of the most important qualities in achieving a dream is to have self-confidence. It takes courage to follow a dream because there is some risk involved in chasing a dream, from fear of failure to humiliation.
Having a positive self-image is a powerful trait for every part of a child’s life. In fact, a strong belief in oneself can often mean the difference between success and failure.
We know that ideally, a child would have a supportive family, school, and friends. Sometimes though, the needed support isn’t there for one reason or another, and a child has to find the strength to believe in himself/herself even if no one else does.
That kind of self-confidence is a true strength.
I recently wrote this picture book, Songbird, to help encourage kids to have the courage and determination to believe in their dreams.
In the book, Sydney Sparrow isn’t interested in nest building or egg protecting, like the other birds. Ever since Sydney heard music playing near her home in Central Park, she has dreamed of becoming a conductor with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra!
While her family loves her dearly and her teacher only wants the best for her, they don’t quite understand her out-of-the-ordinary dream. Regardless, Sydney is determined to reach her goal and to find the strength in herself to pursue it.
I love how the book shows kids that courage, coupled with lots of practice and hard work, help Sydney be ready when an opportunity presents itself.
On a personal note:
I’ve always loved reading and writing since I was a child. After I became a teacher and a mom, I LOVED reading picture books to my own kids and also to my students! It’s always been so much fun! Creating a picture book is definitely a dream come true for me!
I hope you enjoy this book and share it with your own children or the students in your class as a way to start a good discussion about what it means to dream and how we can take a dream and make it a reality with hard work, confidence, and determination.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
