I recently started volunteering for Future Possibilities for Kids. My role is to coach my “kid” towards a goal to make her community and the world a better place.
While I’m in the role of coaching, I find myself being coached each time we speak. Our sessions are the highlight of my week and I’m learning so much about life and relationships from my eleven year old partner!
Here are 4 great life lessons that my wise “kid” recently reminded me of…
- Ask them what they want
- Put others wants and wishes before your own
- Face Your Fears Head On
- Make People Feel Special
Ask Them What They Want
While recently discussing a way to better her school environment my “kid” mentioned the need for quality hot meals. She expressed concern over the amount of waste produced when kids didn’t like some of the meal options. She said that one of the best meals was the chicken Caesar salads that were never thrown out. We talked about strategies to eliminate the waste and since it made all the sense in the world to her, why couldn’t adults just do it -“Ask the kids what they want”! How true is this in business and in life while managing relationships!
Put Others Wants and Wishes Before Your Own
During one of our calls, we were assigned a project to plan a make belief event. My kid decided to throw her best friend a birthday party. When I asked her what kind of food she would like and what decorations she thought would be fun, without hesitation she said “Well it doesn’t really matter what I like, I’m planning the party for her so it should be based on what she likes”. How true! How often do we do this in business? We’re so eager to share the perfect solution that it may not be what our clients what at all and we lose them!
Face Your Fears Head On
This “kid” continues to astonish me! During our activity day, we were reflecting on what she did to express courage during the hours we were together. She said that she was very nervous doing our song in front of 150 people. So the next time we spoke, what did she do? She signed herself up to MC her school’s Remembrance Day service to get over her fear of being in front of people!
Make Others Feel Special
As we wrapped up our call last week, my “kid” said she was tracking her “goal-o-meter” (it’s a thermostat to show the progress of our overall plan). She said “Nikki, every time I fill in the meter it’s one week closer to seeing you again”. You’ll never lose when you’re authentically caring, compassionate and kind in business and in life.
#volunteeringrocks #blessed #futurepossibilities
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