The foundation of our life "is one's unique truth, and the discovery of that truth is a heroic endeavor that lasts our lifetime," says Clinical Director, Therapist, Author & PHD, Brad Reedy.
Many of us may live our life by creating short-term fixes or short-term solutions. For instance, a child may learn from their parent that failing on a test means they need to work harder for the next one.
Let's say this child grows up and makes some big mistakes at work and gets fired. Is the child able to apply the same lesson from failing a test here as well? Maybe yes. Maybe no. It all depends on whether the foundation was built or not. This means no short-term fixes or on-the-spot solutions. This means guiding our kiddos to build some solid, examined belief systems.
Dr. Reedy's quote challenges us to take a step back and get to know our truths first. Asking questions like: What do I believe in? What do I stand for? This one critical step can make or break the foundation of our life, our circumstances and our relationships. Because then instead of letting any failures or mistakes define your child (which is what socialization and unexamined beliefs usually do), your child can actually say, "Alright. This sucks. However, I BELIEVE that failure is a stepping stone to success. So what do I get to learn here?"
The difference is that the latter reveals a human who knows what they believe in and is in touch with their deep universal truths. So, no matter the situation, they can always ask "How can I create a solution that honors my truth and my beliefs?"
Dr. Reed goes further to add that many believe that you can skip and ignore the first step (finding your truth) and go right into one specific skill (dealing with poor test scores).
"That is like learning to throw a ball at a target while diving at the same time or learning to play the piano by starting to learn one specific song. It can be done... but without the foundation and fundamentals the learned skill only applies to one instance.”
This is why our activities are intentional and structured for our little humans to develop a strong FOUNDATION of INNER TRUTH.
Not just "an" inner truth. But their own, unique, beautiful truth.
This is what prepares our kiddos to deal with the hard stuff, no matter the specific circumstances.
Truth is the ground we stand on, upon which the tower of our life is built.
Truth can only be found from within and our job is to help them connect to it and bond with it in the such a way that their truth is unshakable.