Persistence, curiosity, empathy

What are the values that you plan to pass to your children? How will these values affect their lives? This article implies that values of persistence, curiosity and empathy generate better students and more successful professionals. Let us try to understand why.

Persistence

Persistence is the key to success. If you set up a goal and you persist on your way to the goal, either you will get their or you have very bad goal-setting skills. We may argue about how little joy it generates, or how slow the way to the goal will be – but reaching your goal is THE DEFINITION of being successful. A similarly important and indicative of success skill – delaying gratification – probably cannot be taught. You either have it or you do not. Yet, persistence can be told and it can compensate some need in instant gratification.

Curiosity

Curiosity is the easy way to enjoy learning and intellectual work – which are critical for success. Curiosity generates creativity and motivation to search for new ways and new answers. It is a cure for most learning disorders: if you cannot learn in the classroom, you use internet. It is the best first step to knowledge, and knowledge is power.

Empathy

Empathy is a tricky one. You do need to communicate with people around you in order to succeed, but you do not need empathy. Narcissistic sociopath may be as good a CEO as his enthusiastic and empathic predecessor. Empathy has much more to do with mental resilience, than with huge success. Even the most successful people fail, and if you fail the network of your friends and family members allows you to regain your success and learn from your mistakes. Therefore empathic people can take more risks and fail more often, and still succeed afterwards.

So now I understand why I teach my kids to be persistent, curious and empathic. I wish my parents had also knew this theory: my adolescence would be so much easier….