Asset Framing
Puberty messes us all up. All of the sudden we care what other people say and do, care about the words that come out of their mouths, and are not told that for the next four years, hormones will drive while we hold on for dear life trying to figure out if we are in a perpetual fight or flight cycle. Will the waves of emotion pull us fully under?
We don’t talk about how puberty robs us of our own confidence by introducing comparison, self-doubt, negative bias, and inexcusable behavior from usually decent humans. Every middle school needs a class called, “Why did I do that?” and the answer most likely will be puberty. Why did I trip that guy? Impulse control is shot as you consider, what would that look like? What would happen if? And then hormones take over and, there you have it. Puberty.
Because we don’t talk about it, we have so many adults unsure, uneasy of their role in the world. Because what puberty robs from us, we have to build back. We also don’t talk about that. We don’t talk about the power of words and for every tearing down comment we receive it takes four authentic positive comments from people we trust, to out power that one put down.
It takes work to bring back the brilliance dampened by puberty. It takes work to build a personage that is truly ours, truly asset-framed, and actively fighting negative bias. The good news, is we can. We can stand on our assets. Most importantly, we can equip our kids with what is right and good about themselves as they navigate the crazy waters of teen-dom.
CliftonStrengths shows us our leadership wiring. When we learn more about how our top five strengths show up and work together, it gives us a clearer picture of what we bring to the world in addition to our dazzling personality. We bring our wiring, we bring our brains, we bring assets. When we are able to articulate our strengths to others, we have a common language steeped in assets. Steeped in showing what is right and good about each of us and how we show up in the world.
We have to actively create an asset-framed perspective to best serve ourselves and those around us, and it is crucial as we move through these revolutionary times to bring the very best version of ourselves forward. It is critical for our future to have adults who model actively being asset-based, asset-framed, and confidently letting kids know that puberty sucks, but we can get through it with our best in place.
