Do you remember ever being ridiculed at school or elsewhere during your childhood? Whether the reason for it was your dress, style of talking, or lack of expertise in a certain field or at a particular skill, ridicule by others never feels good. In fact, it feels absolutely awful. The thing about being young is, and this I speak from experience, that one tends to take the mockery, criticism and derision of rivals, envious peers, and openly hostile antagonists (whom the modern literati terms “haters”) too quickly to heart, thinking their harsh words about you to be true. It is at this point, viz. when a child or young adult has their appearance, dreams, efforts, hard work, or abilities mocked and jeered at by others, that the role of the compassionate and sympathetic older mentor, leader, teacher, trainer or parent comes in, to play a crucial ‘rescue’ part: revitalizing the dejected youth’s plunging self-esteem and saving them from giving up on their dreams. It is when any youngster is ...
Comments
Post a Comment