What is it about each person that brings joy? Are there any patterns? Help your kids see the bigger picture about the kinds of people they might seek out and surround themselves with if they are intentionally building their own happiness. Try this: Ask your kids who the people are in their lives that make them happiest. We need to build the right kinds of relationships with the right kinds of people to support our success and our happiness. Building human connection intentionally to support your happiness is a key skill to develop. What does that day look like? Share with them your ideas too! Human Connection Try this: Talk with your kids about their perfectly balanced day, with building happiness in mind. Modeling this for your kids by talking out loud about your process and sharing with them the complexities of finding and maintaining balance is a good start. There will be times when we are all in learning something new, and other times when we might not actively seek knowledge at all. There will be seasons of flat out hard work, and seasons where we rest and reap the rewards. Talk with your kids about the balance we all need in life over the long haul and in one given day. We’ve all heard the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,” but all play and no work might mean Jack doesn’t develop the grit he needs to do hard things.

The ability to find balance requires us to look at the big picture of who we are, where we are at in the world, and where we are going. Every person struggles with finding balance, even (especially?) kids. Sometimes it feels like we live in a world of extremes where balance is elusive and the voices around us clamor for our “all in” attention. Here are some ways you might help your kids build the skills they need to be happy: Finding and Maintaining Balance This is why an Integrated Education is so important. How Do We Help Kids Cultivate Their Own Happiness?īy educating the whole child instead of just the intellectual being. After all, what’s the point of being successful? To enjoy your life and leave the world a better place. We could argue that if a person isn’t happy, they aren’t successful. You can have all of the outer trappings of success, but if you aren’t happy in those things are you really successful?Īs parents, we talk to our kids a lot about what they need to be successful:īut how often do we help them build the tools that they will need to be HAPPY in the life that they build? Was one of them “being happy?” If you’re like most people, the first things to surface were probably:īut did your own happiness figure into it?īeing happy is a really important part of what it means to be successful. Quick! What are the first three things that pop to mind when you ask “What does it mean to be successful?” What Does It Mean To Be Successful? The Pursuit of Happiness

What is the pursuit of happiness