By Salt 106.5 Network Monday 9 Sep 2024ParentingReading Time: 3 minutes

The many pressures and expectations being faced by young people today makes it harder than ever before for them to find motivation, according to Brett Ryan from Focus on the Family.

Key Points

• Motivation stems from knowing one’s place in the world – this has been an ever-constant reality for every generation.
• When people feel like they are valued despite their mistakes, they are more open to being nurtured toward greatness.
• It is so important for a person to have other people in their life that they can count on to ‘be in their corner, cheering them on’.

Whether the pressures are from the people around them, their social media feeds, or they’re self-imposed; the fast paced nature of modern life juxtaposed with the slower pace of emotional, physical, social and spiritual development can impact a young person’s desire to reach their potential.

Joining Brett Ryan on this Helping Hands panel discussion about young people is Jon Owen, from Wayside Chapel; and Emmylou Brasser, from the Salvation Army’s Oasis Youth Services; to explore the ways in which adults can help young people to overcome their challenges and find motivation.

“Purpose is the seed that drives motivation,” Jon begins.

Inspired by his experience as a parent and through his work at Wayside Chapel, Jon says motivation stems from knowing one’s place in the world – and that’s a constant that hasn’t changed.

Even though the pressures young people face today are different to previous generations, love and support is the key.

“One of our core philosophies at Wayside Chapel is to say, “No one is a problem to be solved, they’re a person to be met“.

If people can feel met rather than worked on, they’ll often find that they are amongst a community …  all of a sudden, they can find that sense of meaning and purpose, and a lot of intrinsic motivation just flows quite naturally.”

Working with young people who are carrying the burden of family breakdown, neglect and abuse, Emmylou says the first step to helping find motivation is to break the negative cycles, and second, to show them that they have someone in their corner, cheering them on, celebrating even the smallest of victories as significant steps in the right direction.

“It’s really giving them the voice and the driver’s seat for getting to the future that they picture for themselves – not putting any kind of expectations on them until they’re ready to achieve those goals how they see themselves doing it.”

This is true for all young people, Brett adds, regardless of their individual circumstances. Knowing that someone else believes in them is a wonderful motivator.

“Having a significant adult speak into their lives, like a mentor or a coach – someone to actually say, ‘You matter, you’re really important,’ – that is just an incredible thing, a gift. And I think we all need to have people who can be our cheer squad.”

See the MOTIVATING YOUNG PEOPLE discussion and the full catalogue of Helping Hands panels at helpinghands.tv. Catch up on full episodes of Helping Hands on 9NOW.

Article supplied with thanks to Helping Hands TV. Helping Hands is an Australian produced TV program that airs on 9GEM, Channel 9 and 9NOW, and showcases people and organisations who make the world a better place.

Feature image: Photo by Gabriel Brito on Unsplash