I have spent over a decade serving emerging adults and their families as a life skills counselor, therapist and Clinical Director at a nationally renowned private therapeutic program, Living Well Transitions, in Boulder, Colorado. In that time I developed an approach to my work that deeply honors the necessary identity exploration, the healthy skepticism, and the need to experiment and explore possibilities that this phase of life entails.
I believe that as a society we are flagging in our responsibilities of meeting the needs of our young people by failing to provide education that promotes reflection on personal values, encourages creative exploration, and builds emotional resilience. To face the social and economic challenges of the 21st century, we need life skills to match the challenges and opportunities of today’s society. The information service age is a markedly different landscape than any we have faced before in human history. Navigating the pitfalls posed by social media overexposure, while harnessing the possibility of greater collaboration and connectivity the digital age promises requires that we engage new skills to relate to the volume of information our brains/minds must process. Skills that train mindful attention, cultivate values clarity and increase impulse control are the new stock in trade needed to wade our way through a sea of information that floods towards us each time we turn on a connected digital device.
I believe the Millennial Generation has before it unprecedented opportunities and challenges in charting a course for the future of our society. There is no more valuable work I can do than to support the noble and creative discovery process that unleashes the power and potential of a young mind active in uncovering what is possibile.
