As we age, there comes a point when things we could do as children we can no longer do as adults. What falls into that category for you?
Share why if you wish.
Category: Youth
When Has Naivety Benefited You?
Our society tends to view naivety as a weakness. Is there ever a time in your life when it was a strength?
Most of the time, not knowing the rules when you are working on a particular project leads to failure, and possibly even disaster. A lack of understanding can easily lead to a costly mistake. Learning on the fly is possible, but it takes time, skill, and luck to navigate.
Consequently, knowledge and experience is typically valuable and well-earned. Having been through something before, or having researched it and prepared fully can be invaluable.
However, there are occasions when ignorance confers a benefit. There are times when youthful enthusiasm, for instance, can make up for a lack of experience. Sometimes, not knowing how difficult a task is can allow you to try a method that a more experienced person might ignore. And sometimes an unconventional approach, more easily provided by a newcomer, is exactly what is needed.
Are there times in your life when your naivety or lack of experience was an asset? Starting out, did you accomplish things that you would never attempt once you knew more? Do you look back and marvel what you accomplished because you didn’t know it couldn’t be done?
Related questions: What experience helped you grow? Is more knowledge always better? When is it useful to fail?
What Is The Biggest Challenge Faced By Today’s Youth?
Humans face a number of challenges. Young people, in many cases, are impacted to a greater extent than their older counterparts. What is the biggest challenge today’s youth faces?
There is no doubt that young people of today are faced with big problems.
For instance, social media has been shown to be quite harmful to the developing brain. Previous generations did not have to grow up in the social media age.
Many schools practice active shooter drills in case of a a gun-wielding attacker. Adults, in particular politicians, seem incapable of doing anything to actually make schools safer places to be.
Similarly, the economic outlook for a young person in today’s society is troubling. Soaring college costs leave them drowning in student debt, with the very real prospect of having to postpone buying a house or starting a family. Not to mention the prospect of possible failure of programs like Social Security.
The rapidly-improving Artificial Intelligence could mean major changes to jobs and the workforce. And some public figures are even sounding alarms that A.I. could pose a threat to humans as a species.
The bitterly-divided political parties would seem to be bringing about a failure in our governmental institutions. Regardless of the winner of the next presidential election, there may be widespread unrest, protests, and perhaps even violence.
On the environmental front, climate change and the resulting effects pose an existential threat. Each year is hotter than the last, with more extreme weather. Ecosystems are collapsing, with species going extinct. That’s a problem for all of us, but surely it’s a bigger problem for someone expecting to live, say, seventy five more years vs twenty five.
As a result of all these troubles, it is not surprising that such a large percentage of young people suffer from mental health issues. Today’s youth faces problems from personal to societal to existential. What do you think is their greatest challenge?
Related questions: What is the greatest problem facing humanity? Will the future be better than the present? What do we owe the future?
How Have Your Parents Influenced You?
The parent-child relationship is an important one for most people. Can you think of ways you have been influenced by your parents?
The first relationship that we have is with our mother, followed shortly by our father. For most people, they remain of primary importance throughout our development and into adolescence.
Because of this, the relationship we have with our parents helps to define who we are, what we believe, and often how we think and what we like.
Related: Listen to an episode of the Intellectual Roundtable Podcast, where Lee and Michael discuss this question: ‘What makes you you?’ We also discuss another question as well, ‘What gives a person value?’
Of course, that fact might also lead to problems. There is a reason that many therapy sessions deal with understanding the way we were treated growing up, and how it might impact our behavior as adults. Additionally, many people end up with romantic partners that have behaviors similar to a parent.
Some people have a complicated relationship with their mother and/or their father. Even if you don’t, you can probably trace some of your likes and dislikes, as well as some of your beliefs, to one or both of your parents.
How have your parents influenced you?
Related questions: How are you just like your parents? Why do we like what we like? What makes you you? What is your favorite childhood memory?
What Makes You Feel Five Years Old?
Some smells, toys, sounds, or other experiences can transport us back in time to when we were young. What does it for you?
Share why if you wish.