Life Learning Opportunities

As our family gathered for the holiday, I asked everyone to do an activity with me. This activity consisted of reading about a person who, amidst great challenges in his life, stayed the course and never gave up.

As we read, it became apparent that the reason for this kind of dogged dedication was that at any given time, our hero was able to recall all of the earlier challenges in his life that, in spite of difficulty and adversity, were never allowed to languish or given up on as hopeless causes. These adversities created ‘life-learning opportunities’ and became positive experiences to refer to throughout life.

Our family discussed the importance of memory of our experiences and challenges and of the outcome of those experiences.

To help them all fully understand what I was hoping to get across, I shared with my family a list of experiences I had in my life that always remind me that I never want to give up or give in. A case in point was my recollection of the first time I appeared as an expert panelist on the Dr. Phil television show. I was nervous and anxious about my appearance and worried about my performance. But I relaxed when I allowed my passion for helping and teaching families overtake and overcome my anxiety. My television appearance was a success! Thereafter, when confronted with similar situations, situations that trigger similar emotions and fears, all it takes for me is to recall my past motivations and outcomes. How I deal with my memory of these emotions and experiences reminds me that I can confront obstacles and accomplish my goals while staying true to my goals, my emotions, and my beliefs.

I then asked each of our children to write down on a piece of paper three to five important experiences that would help them remember who they are and what they can accomplish.

After reading their completed lists, I became inspired about the understanding and thoughtful introspection of what they wrote about.

We ended our discussion talking about the value of this exercise as a way of keeping us on track with how we deal with what life offers us: who we are, and who we continue to grow to become. I keep my ‘life-learning opportunities’ list posted in my room so I can refer to it often.

About Mark Hobbins

For more than 20 years, Mark has helped families whose children had gone too far down the road of self-defeating and even self-destructive behaviors -- families who needed intervention to rescue the child and heal the family. Mark created FamilyIQ with the mission of prevention, of building stronger, and more fulfilling families today.

Mark Hobbins has enjoyed an illustrious career in mental health and therapeutic education.  He is a co-founder of the Aspen Education Group and is a past member of the Colleague Panel for the Council on Accreditation of Services to Families and Children. He is a consulting expert for numerous media outlets including CBS, NBC, ABC, People Magazine, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, LA Times, and the NY Times. He has consulted with and appeared on various television shows throughout the world including BRAT CAMP, Britain‘s Youngest Boozers, Tyra Banks and Dr. Phil shows. Mark has authored and co-authored many articles, courses and workbooks.