Feel control over your own destiny
Having personal power means understanding and accepting the things we can and can't control. You can find a new job, work out a conflict, or move to a new location if you choose. When young people feel empowered, they feel more confident to make their own choices - to get good grades, participate in activities they enjoy, and take action to find solutions to probolems.
Personal Power is Asset 37 of Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets, the qualities, experiences, and relationships that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
Here are the facts:
Research shows that young people are more likely to grow up healthy if they feel a sense of control over the things that happen to them. A sense of personal power gives young people the confidence to embrace positive attitudes and behaviors, and walk away from risky situations and behaviors. About 44 percent of young people, ages 11-18, feel that they have control over things that happen to them, according to Search Institute surveys. Caring adults provide opportunities for young people to make their own decisions.
Tips for building this asset:
Young people who have a strong sense of their own power believe that when good things happen to them, they had some control over the outcome. If things go wrong, help young people focus on the positive steps they can take to remedy the situation. Help them see how they can make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
- In your home and family: Teach your child practical skills, such as how to change a tire, cook a meal, and wash their clothes. Well-prepared young people are more likely to feel a sense of personal power.
- In your school, neighborhood and community: Support young people's efforts to be industrious. For example, buy lemonade from their lemonade stand, read their homemade newspaper, and attend a play they put on in their garage. Challenge the young people to come up with a creative way to raise money or volunteer time for a local organization. Then put the plan into action. Serving others helps young people realize they can make a difference in the world, which gives them an enormous sense of personal power.
Want to know more about the 40 Developmental Assets and ideas for helping young people build them? Visit
https://searchinstitute.org/resources-hub/developmental-assets-framework.
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2017 Developmental Assets® are positive factors within young people, families, communities, schools, and other settings that research has found to be important in promoting the healthy development of young people.