I recently read a Bruce Lee quote that encourages parents to stop striving to buy their children all the material things they didn’t have growing up. Instead, parents should focus on teaching what they were never taught.
This quote prompted me to think about all the things I wish I had learned earlier. Most people go through their school years questioning whether remembering a specific historical date or solving some geometrical problems would ever serve them. For a good reason as often, it doesn’t. Yet, there are so many things that we are never taught that are essential to every individual.
Meditation
In a world of social media notifications, flashy advertisements, and vivid online games, learning how to concentrate is a challenge. Many children are struggling with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). At the same time, many who do not have a disorder exhibit similar symptoms, most likely due to the overuse of digital media.
Meditation is not only a solution for anyone who already finds themselves in a similar situation. It is also an excellent preventive measure. Numerous studies are confirming that meditation can positively influence your memory, focus, immune system, mood, and sleep.
At school, meditation can also help children cope with stress and conflicts. The awareness that is developed through meditation allows you to manage your emotions better. As a result, you are less likely to have aggressive outbursts and more likely to show compassion.
Personal Finance
We are taught complex mathematical concepts, yet most people never learn even the basics of managing personal finances. Those who grew up with parents who had a negative relationship with money are more likely to think that money is scarce. So they lack money, struggle with debts, or are underpaid.
Budgeting is the fundament of personal finances – knowing how much you have and planning how much you’re going to spend. Careful budgeting allows you to save, and invest, which in turn covers you when you have emergency expenses, or you want to treat yourself. An unplanned medical bill or a family trip no longer has to be a burden.
Budgeting is not about limiting yourself. It is about making sensible financial decisions. In fact, through budgeting, you can get the most of your money’s worth.
Self-love
You have probably heard that you need to love yourself first before you can love others.
Check your self-talk, your daily habits, your relationships. If they are destructive, you need to step back and ask yourself why you are doing things that do not serve your best interest.
Self-love is hard to teach because most people are struggling with it. There are so many misconceptions equalling self-love to egoism. When you love yourself, you treat yourself like you’d care for a dear friend, you accept your flaws while working on improving yourself, you set your boundaries, and know your strengths. Self-love is the only way to develop healthy self-esteem.
You can start your self-love journey with baby steps. Take time to treat yourself to something you love – a day at the spa, a riveting book, a nourishing meal, or some peace in nature.
First aid
First aid training will make you more knowledgeable and confident in handling emergencies. Done correctly, it can save a life while a qualified medical professional is on their way.
First aid is essential in life-threatening situations, but it can also be beneficial in many other ways. It can prevent a permanent disability, relieve pain, and provide comfort to a person in need.
A first aid course can also raise awareness about the risk of certain situations or lifestyle choices and act as prevention against them. It is one more way to show care for the safety and well-being of the people you love, yourself included.
Beginner’s mind
Zen Buddhism teaches that you should keep your beginner’s mind no matter how advanced you become in a subject. The beginner’s mind is open to receiving, curious, free from preconceptions. It allows you to see things as they are rather than distorting them based on your previous knowledge, beliefs, religion, etc.
Our school system does the opposite. It puts you in a box, limits your possibilities, destroys creativity, and ensures you develop a variety of prejudices. Reality and your own reality become two separate things. You don’t see the world as it is, you see it as you are.
The beginner’s mind is empty. There is sufficient space for anything, for exploration, because it is not overflowing with assumptions. Keeping a beginner’s mind makes life more exciting while also allowing us to keep learning and growing.
What do you wish you had learned as a child?
There must be countless things that matter which we were never taught. Whether you agree with this list of five or you have another list in mind, make sure you teach it. Teach it to your children, partner, parents, friends, and colleagues through your example. Be the inspiration you needed while growing up.
