Living life is a bit like about climbing a mountain isn’t it? As a child they start at the bottom and they have an inbuilt instinct to climb – that is the way we humans all are after all!

Some children want to climb higher and higher up the life mountain, however scary it might be for others. As children turn into young adults they develop an ambition of what they want from their life – sometimes particular enjoyments, a family of their own, a career, an enjoyable money earning job perhaps, sporting prowess, or sometimes something parents think is unachievable.

The secret for climbing life’s mountain though is for the child themselves to be in ultimate control over what they want to do –starting from an early age certainly. Each young person has to be self confident enough to decide individually what to do and where to go – others don’t decide what they do, but youngsters of course need to be taking help and advice along the route from parents, family, friends, and caring ones – and all that is an essential must of course. If bad choices are made they have to be theirs as an individual person – no blame then on others whatever happens.

Young people can’t find their way up the life mountain path without skills, tools, a helping hand at times, and above all constant encouragement – and that is where us adults come in isn’t it?

Climbing life’s mountain is physically and emotionally very difficult for adolescents. Most of us adults don’t actually climb up very far, and that is not a problem. Some people climb high up and even to the top – but that does not necessarily mean greater happiness does it?.

All of us need though to climb up the life mountain as far as our talents can take us, without shirking hard work, so it is not supposed to be easy, but it has also to be enjoyable. Everybody needs to learn to enjoy what they are doing in life, or move onto something else that they can enjoy – that is an essential for our existence surely?

[If you are a parent then give your child the gift of self determination in life – hopefully you made your own decisions (right or wrong as they turned out) on the road you took up the life mountain – and your offspring should be given by you the inner confidence and strength to do the same surely?].