Teens (& Parents of Teens) Spring Break's Over. Decide to Take Action to End the School Year Strong!

Spring Break is over. No more sleeping in. No more vacation. It’s back to school for another two months before Summer Vacation. For many parents and students, the school year has been frustrating and stressful thus far. Perhaps you’re frustrated with your teen’s lack of motivation. Or maybe you’re a teen who has thought about putting in more effort to fulfill your full potential, but just don’t know where to begin. It’s not too late to end the school year on a strong note. It all starts with the power of Decision.

One of the simplest definitions in the dictionary for the word “decide” is “to make a final choice.” It is quite empowering for teens to make a decision about how they want become more driven and learn to approach their school work differently. For many of my teen clients, before they started working with me, they “thought” about wanting to do better, but hadn’t made the decision yet to make a change. If the teen is truly ready and willing to put in the work to make a change for the better, then the next step is to make a decision. Remember, by definition, to “decide” is “to make a final choice.” Finally, after months of procrastinating and thinking about putting in more effort, the time has come to decide once and for all what the student wants. I have my students write down and read their decisions out loud. For many, it is the first time that these words have come out of their mouths and it feels great!

Some examples of “real-life” teen decisions are:

“I want to do better, make more of an effort, and fulfill my potential.”

“I want to push myself harder and find out what I’m capable of.”

“I’m going to step it up, stay on top, and get my stuff done.”

“I’ve decided that I want to know more about my strengths so I can learn how to be a better student.”

Of course the decision has to come from the student himself. I’m a firm believer that “change comes from within.” That doesn’t mean that you can do everything on your own and don’t need to ask for help. If that was the case, then many of us would be out of a job. “Change comes from within” is when a person has decided for himself that a change is needed in a particular area in his life. Only then, can outside resources be effective in helping him achieve what he wants.

Once the decision is made, a small congratulations to the student is in order since she has chosen to make a positive change in her life. Now, the real work begins as she will need to make action steps to get there. I call these “Well-Designed Actions”.

It is important to have somebody hold the teens accountable for the action steps that they make. It is more beneficial if this person is NOT a parent. If you have a teen, then you know why!

Click here to read more about the virtue of Well-Designed Actions in this post I wrote earlier this year.

With two more months left in the school year, it’s not too late to start making positive changes now. When teens are open to learning more about themselves, self-awareness can be an empowering tool that can serve them throughout high school, college, and beyond. But of course, before any of that can begin, it all starts with a decision.

Hayden Lee is a Certified Academic Life Coach for teenagers. He works one-on-one with teens to help them stay motivated and fulfilled in order to make academic and personal success easier and less stressful.