YOUTH CAN BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

By Travis Hardin
An Inspirational Speaker @ The Re-De-Fined Project

Members of ASU football team @ Andre House

As we finish this 4 part series, we want to concentrate on our youth and their feelings towards being taken seriously. Teens and young adult constantly talk to The Re-De-Fined Project and say they feel as though their thoughts and ideas are not taken seriously. They are told they are too young or they haven’t lived long enough. Are they too young or are some adults being immature and disregarding great ideas and thoughts? The following is an exact post from an unidentified teen:

I feel like nobody ever cares for what I think not even my parents no matter what I say it´s just not gonna be acknowledged even if it`s true , I should probably mention that I’m not very good at socializing for some reason I get really shy around new people it’s worse with girls much worse.( I go on silent mode when I’m on a date , I’m really good on the phone though) I spent my high school years as that guy who never speaks(I’m not Goth or anything) and of course I became that weird guy that everybody ignores. As an adult I really need to deal with this cause its making my life difficult, because I feel like I’m not good at anything and it doesn’t help to have a criticizing family who don’t understand. I’m the nice guy who allays is gonna be used or taken advantage of and I’m sick of it, everybody is like taking shots at me. What should I do?

I believe that youth being taken seriously by adults is a collaborative effort from both groups. Youth can be taken more seriously by adults simply by communicating professionally their ideas and viewpoints. And for the adults, they should be able to appreciate great work and efforts from anyone regardless of their age. As time passes it will be these same young people running businesses and making decisions we currently make today.

 

The Re-De-Fined Project volunteers

Here are steps to help teens, young adults and adults to get people to take you seriously:

- Your behavior. More than anything else, it's the things you do that cause others to see you in a certain way. If you fool around all the time at school/work, other people are likely to see you as someone that either can't be trusted or you are always looking for attention even at the expense of your dignity. If you want to be taken seriously, stop acting irresponsible.

- Your words. Second in line behind your actions, are the words you speak. If you are brash and/or obnoxious, people will tend to see you as a jokester. If you lie all the time, no one will believe a word you say. If you make up stories to embellish your image, people will see through you. If you want to be taken serious, consider what you say before you say it, and don't say things that others will ridicule. People generally view more seriously people who only speak when they have something to say.

- At home. To be taken seriously by your parents/family, you need to behave in responsible ways. Do your share, learn to do things properly so you don't mess up or break things. Don't make promises and then break them. Be there when others need you and base your decisions on what is best for everyone in the family, not just you.

- Your attitude. Stop hanging around with people who do nothing but talk negative stuff. We can't afford to do this when our goal is to become more positive. The negative people in our life aren't going to like it when we stop participating in negativity. Just remember that birds of a feather really do flock together.

- Confidence. People like and follow confident people. If you want people to take you seriously, you have to be someone others see as confident. Modesty and confidence work exceptionally well together in the battle against arrogance. To be considered confident without arrogance, act with humility and be accountable for your actions.

- Think before you speak. Time and time again, you see people saying things that had they taken a moment before opening their mouth, would have chosen to do otherwise. To be taken seriously, you need to consider your words and how others might receive them. If you take a moment before speaking, you reduce the risk of saying something stupid, which of course causes others to take you seriously.

-Humility. One of the things that separate those who are taken seriously, from those who are not, is humility or being humble. People don't take loud mouths seriously, nor do they look favorably on those who make excuses all the time for their mistakes. Responsible people accept the repercussions of their actions and don't try to hog attention or praise.

We want to be sure and give our youth and young adults the best opportunity to succeed without pushing them along without proper training. Help The Re-De-Fined Project in the area of giving our youth and young adults a voice. You remember what it was like to be brushed off because you were young. Let’s not crush the dreams of tomorrow’s leaders. We dare you to try assisting youth with their visions and inspirations. You may just learn more than you thought.

 

Pay it forward

Travis Hardin