As a youth enthusiast, I’ve seen the tough times our youth face today. They deal with many pressures and obstacles that can hurt their self-worth. But, there’s a way to help them build a strong foundation to thrive, not just survive.
Every responsible leader has moral obligation to help young people find practical ways to help them grow their confidence and resilience. Our youth are the future, and it’s our duty to give them the tools to succeed.
Key Issues
- Understand the importance of fostering confidence and resilience in young people for their long-term success is very essential to our growth.
- Discovering and implementing key components of effective youth development programs is a significant role.
- Learning practical strategies to help young people build mental toughness and emotional intelligence is important for raising competent future leaders.
- Gaining insights into the holistic approach needed to support the well-being of today’s youth is a collective responsibility to all present leaders and stake-holders.
Understanding the Core Elements of Youth Development
Building strong, resilient individuals starts with positive youth development. At its core are self-esteem and emotional well-being. These elements shape a young person’s confidence and outlook on life.
Self-esteem is how an individual sees and values themselves. It’s crucial for young people to have a healthy self-worth. Positive feedback from trusted adults can help build this trait.
Emotional well-being is also key. It’s about understanding and managing one’s feelings. Emotional intelligence helps young people deal with stress and build strong relationships. Learning to explore emotions in a supportive setting is very helpful.
When self-esteem and emotional well-being are nurtured together, young people are set for success. They can handle life’s challenges, make smart choices, and reach their goals.
Building mental toughness is key for young people to handle life’s hurdles, especially uoung people of today’s Africa where opportunities are limited by practice. Setting clear, achievable goals is a great start. Breaking down big dreams into smaller steps to help them feel in control is higly required for taking rightful positions in the growing a renewed national polity.
Also, celebrating their small victories; I love this so much and I always encourage young people at the slightest opportunity to do that. This boosts their confidence and shows them the value of hard work. If I could become a Lawmaker, any other youth can irrespective of their background or geographical locations. Success has no permanent place.
Problem-solving skills are essential too. We need to impact on young people on how to see challenges as chances to learn, not as failures. They should be able to figure out problems, think of solutions, and see how it turns out. This way, they learn to think critically and stay strong in tough times. It’s also important to help them stay positive and flexible. Show them how to turn setbacks into learning moments. Teach them to see mistakes as steps towards success. In addition, we need to introduce them to tools like visualization, positive self-talk, and stress management. These can help them build the mental strength to face any obstacle.
Fostering Emotional Intelligence and Social Skills Through Challenge-Based Learning
It’s key for young people to develop emotional intelligence and social skills. These skills are vital for success in school and life. Challenge-based learning offers a great way to build these skills through hands-on experiences and problem-solving. This helps them manage their feelings and understand others better. For example, an unemployed youth should desist from carrying the feeling of unemployment around as that may likely create blockage to getting employment even when the oipportunities are cloer to him or her. Young people must learn to communicare their goals clearly, develop ability to solve problems, and get along with others.
My vision for establishing Eleniyancares Leadership Foundation is to ensure all-round development personality development for young people so they can be empowered to take decisions and get prepared for leadership in the future.
Special feature Written by Hon. Segun Olulade
Founder, Eleniyanecares Leadership Foundation