James Altucher: My kids can do what they want

I told my children: "You are all the time complaining about school. If you don't like it – don't go. I don't even care". And what? They challenged me. They rushed to inject heroin. They are not rushed to do a tattoo. No, they went to school. How did they dare?! I wasn't trying to use reverse psychology, no – this is for people who are afraid to speak the truth.

 

My kids can do what they want. I give them not freedom, but choices. They chose jail. Well.

For me school was a psychiatric hospital where I was forcibly fed the following drugs:





1. A bunch of facts. In the lectures I ask the audience: "When Charlemagne was born?" I have never received a response with an error less than two hundred years. Studies show that within 45 minutes after the lesson we forget 90% of what we were taught. Our brain still need convincing that the facts are worthy of remembering. If he sees passion or experiencing delight, then it happens. But boring facts quickly evaporate.

 

2. Perfectionism. In schools praise for five and punished for three. When the daughter tells me that got a 5, I ask why she wants to go to the lessons given to her so easily. Troika gives a much more: it shows what you should learn. What you may not be interested. How to cope with imperfection. How to cope with pride of other people. How to cope with uncertainty.

 

3. Clans. My best friend Jimmy Biondo punched me in the back when I stood at my locker. I fell and cried. I think I was 15. In school you have to choose friends from a narrow circle of people. This leads to friendship, painted in political tone to gloat, gossip, friendship, as described in "Lord of the flies". Yes, I'm the most ugly boy in the book died. And Yes, I have not read this book in school. I read its summary.

 

4. Science and math. Although it's a wonderful items, I often think that my children expect them to shed his penchant for creativity on the threshold of the school. All are forced to cram, then check. Then again cramming and test again. And so twenty years.

 

5. Work. From 7 am often until 10 p.m. my children "work". They all day sitting in class, almost without moving, and then often work on homework until you fall asleep. They learn to work hard. However...

 

However, if you are already an adult want to succeed, to be creative, to learn to survive failures and to "sell" your ideas, if you want to learn how to give your life direction, you need to UNLEARN.

 

How to unlearn what you were taught in school?

 

1. Game. The game (no matter how you define that word) reduces stress, promotes creativity makes people happier. It's fun. And there is nothing wrong.

Maybe many people think they simply must work, otherwise they will be unproductive. When they are not busy "thing", they begin a stress. After all, we boost to work during the school years.

What is and what should play? I don't know! What and what you want. Go to the Museum. View movie in the middle of the day. Urinate in public places, photograph the results, and then arrange the exhibition. Who cares?



 

2. Creative activities. Sometimes I grow weary of writing this blog. Then I'm doing something else. Draw. Or plan an election campaign in Congress! From this my brain is getting nicer. I can literally feel the neurons light up. The brain feels that I love him. And every day I try to take exercises different parts of the brain.

 

3. Friendship. Not necessarily make friends only with those people directly next to you. So it was only in school time. Now we can be friends with people who love us and whom we love ourselves. I couldn't understand. This aspect of my life drove me to despair. I finally realized it's probably only in 2010. I was 42 years old. Some people, thank God, understand this much earlier. But I had to "unlearn", to forget what I learned about friendship in the ninth grade.

 

4. No makeovers. The ability to live with imperfection gives us much more possibilities. And helps us to love ourselves and not feel so much shame – which leads to more honest life and deeper relations. Perfectionism is a cage in which trapped our happiness. I lost many friends when I stopped pretending that I'm perfect. I was afraid people wouldn't like it, and I was right. It's OK (see # 3).





5. I read just about what fascinated. And the fact that I'm not interested, but you may need at any moment, I always look in the Internet. (Charlemagne was born in 742 year. Thank You, Wikipedia!) So read only what is interesting for you.

 



12 reminders for parents from Shalva Amonashvili

Really need kindergarten?

6. Independence. And this, too, is not taught in school. Therefore, it is difficult to learn it as an adult. We lose the habit of it. But as soon as you manage to learn to be creative personality, to support positive friendship, coming up with ideas, to be imperfect, you also learn to promote their ideas among people who can believe in them. This is the beginning of independence.published

 

Author: James Altucher
 

 



Source: www.aum.news/novosti/1804-moi-deti-mogut-delat-to-chto-im-zahochetsya

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