That calm, centre-point within each of us is what we call our Zenter. It’s our internal compass. And it’s either strengthened or weakened by our daily practices – our habits. The 9 happy habits are the practices that work together like spokes in a wheel to strengthen our Zenter. One of these happy habits is the practice of Trying New Things.
Trying New Things Includes
Learning, growing +
having a sense of wonder
How Trying New Things Works
Sometimes kids avoid trying new things because they're afraid of failing. New things can make them feel insecure or even anxious. With consistent avoidance, they may begin to miss out on experiences and lose their sense of wonder. But great benefits come from struggling and making mistakes. Brain research proves that challenging experiences actually cause our nervous systems to strengthen and our brains to develop.
You have not failed
unless you have quit trying
- Gordon B. Hinckley
Trying new things inspires kids to have a sense of wonder, take risks, make mistakes, problem-solve, learn, persist, overcome and grow. All of these boost their self-esteem, build their courage and enthusiasm for new challenges and increase their engagement in life.
The greatest mistake we will ever make is
living in constant fear that we will make one
- John C Maxwell
Teaching Kids About Trying New Things
You can use ANY of our materials to encourage kids to try new things. Check out the links at the end of this post for just a few options:
Raise their confidence using Right On Target from our Try New Things 5 Pack
Inspire them to play for the pure fun of it with Losing Your Marbles Poem + Quote
Introduce the habit with the I Try New Things handout, found in our Happy Habits Handouts
It's not that I'm so smart
It's that I stay with problems longer - Albert Einstein
Links: