Like most parents, you probably want your child to step into their full potential and to experience joy, success and fulfillment in work and in life. Professional career coaching can serve to make informed decisions and to pave the path for a joyful and fulfilling future. But, here’s the thing: a number of teens place future-planning and decision-making at the bottom of their priority lists. We work with a lot of parents who talk about how they wish their teen would express a wider range of interests and show more initiative: “I feel like all she cares about is her friends!”, or, “He’s not interested in anything except gaming, sleeping or hanging out with friends.” We hear these or similar statements often.
It’s actually quite common for most teens to experience a temporary lack of momentum and motivation, especially where schoolwork and future-planning is concerned. The brain is in a rapid developmental phase during this stage and the hormones that are present can turn a teenager’s emotional world upside down. Puberty is a time of deep preoccupation with one’s self. What might comes across as indifference and listlessness, is in fact a highly demanding process of assimilating the constant biological and hormonal changes that are occurring. And this process can be extremely challenging and energetically draining. Especially since exams and university applications can’t just be placed on hold.
Tip: Demonstrate to your teen that you understand their need for lots of sleep and regeneration. At the same time, communicated that you’re there to support them with discovering what they envision for their future.
Oftentimes, the lack of motivation amongst teens is related to a lack of clarity around what they want to create with their lives, what is important to them and what they want to achieve. Essentially, many teens experience a lack of perspective.
In our College and Career-Coaching sessions, we support teens with discovering what lights up that inner spark. Our goal is always to tease out that feeling of excitement around the future. If a goal is enticing, then the path towards it suddenly feels easier and more fun. After working with our teenage clients, we often receive feedback that they’re approaching their schoolwork with a renewed sense of enjoyment and motivation. Receiving clarity can be so powerful.
If you’d like to learn more about us and how we work, you can experience one of our free intro-coaching sessions. Simply click the link below to book a spot using our booking app: