Page 29 - Dainfern Precinct Living Issue 6 July 2024

LIFESTYLE

Empowering young people to make life-enriching

choices and in turn inspiring families to thrive.

t’s time for action! It’s time to start our Goal Country. What do we want • Harness diligence and quality work.
building the country (and the life) to achieve and be respected and Doing our best and delivering top
we dream of. With huge challenges remembered for? Do we want peace, productivity and results.
in the spotlight, isn’t it time to focus love at the core of everyone’s actions, • Harness proactive parenting. Striving
our energy on what we want, and well-being and prosperity for all? What to be a positive role-model at all times;
not on what we don’t want? What Galvanizers will get us there? enhancing communication; having
Iwe feed and focus our energy on is family mealtimes regularly; making time
what grows – so shouldn’t we feed what Identifying the Galvanizers is easy. for family activities; loving; laughing;
we want to grow? Remembering to harness them daily engaging.
needs focus. Love, honesty, kindness, • Harness boundaries and self-discipline.
The tug-of-war we face daily has been forgiveness, proactive parenting, fidelity Taking time to define the line we won’t
accelerating, the challenges are amassing in marriage, self-discipline, tolerance, cross.
and their strength sometimes appears patience, generosity, diligence, best • Harness God. For those who believe in
overwhelming. Crime, gender violence, efforts (and hundreds of others) all a Creator, this presents a most powerful
corruption, unemployment, xenophobia . . await to be put to daily use. Galvanizer.
. the list goes on . . . so what do we do? • Harness healing. If trauma, bitterness,
If the Challengers are to be flattened, anger or past hurts exist, you can bring
Let’s ‘unpack’ the tug-of-war, and the there’s no time to be wasted on wallowing release and healing through counselling/
two teams. In fact, let’s refer to it as the in self-pity, being in victim-mode or therapy.
tug-of-life because our end-goal is to coming up with an array of excuses. The • Harness thoughts and choices. Ask: “Are
have Life. Quality, fulfilling, happy Life. Galvanizers need to operate at peak my choices leading me towards, or away
The Challenger team (all the bad stuff) effectiveness so all our energy needs to go from, my Goal Person (Goal Relationships,
is powerful and tugging with great gusto, to honing their power. Goal Country…)?”
but they will quickly be disempowered So how do we build our Galvanizers into
if we harness enough Galvanizers (the powerful Challenger-flatteners? Starting Imagine if all of us (including our leaders)
invaluable aspects and actions that get with ourselves, let’s look at some of the tried a Galvanizer-focused approach.
our life to where we want it) to tug for us. things we could do: Challengers would fade away, and love,
• Harness love, a potent Galvanizer. How tolerance, honesty, hope and prosperity
So what are the Galvanizers we need can we show love to everyone around us, would flourish. Families and businesses
to harness? How do we even start to every day? How would it feel to react with would thrive. Young people would make
disempower the violence and other kindness and compassion to each person life-enriching choices and their future
negatives that are on the go? The best we come into contact with? would be filled with possibility and
place to start is with ourselves. How do • Harness honesty. Only speaking the opportunity.
we envision our Goal Person? (What’s our truth. Not doing anything dishonest. Not
best self and the positive outcomes we cheating, not stealing, not engaging in an A Utopian dream? No! It’s a choice!
strive for?) affair. How would that be? What will each one of us choose to do?
• Harness patience. Breathing deeply and What will our leaders choose? If we
Then let’s look at our Goal Family, Goal sending rays of love towards anyone who want to steer our future, the time to
Career, Goal Community and ultimately, stresses us. decide and act is now!
For more information about Life Talk’s workshops and talks that address the challenges
faced by teens (and by parents), visit www.lifetalk.co.za

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