EXPAND YOUR MIND BY THIS "ONE" HABIT

WE KNOW NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ARE DOOMED TO FAIL FROM THE MINUTE THEY ARE CONCEIVED BUT THIS ONE HABIT IS NOT ONLY WORTH TRYING, IT IS A MUST IN EVERY SINGLE LIFE GEARED FOR SUCCESS.

Reading is the golden habit and common denominator in senior, up and coming and young entrepreneurs worldwide. Executives read an average of 5 books a week in North America. Regardless of health, wealth, gender, or education, a 2016 study by Yale University School of Public Health researchers found reading 30 minutes a day helped participants 50 and older live on average two years longer than their non-reading peers.

Building reading habits among children however, seems to be getting harder and harder. Adolescents consume a lot of information online, but are they actually learning ? With easy access to information, It is no more about where the information comes from but the quality of content available to users. With a simple audit of social media including steaming media such as YouTube, you find myriad educational content that could help compensate for lack there of "reading" time among adolescents.

If parents to adolescents and wanting to instill healthy content consumption try these tips:

1- Passive exposure to high-value content.

Turn on your TV or stream educational and business podcasts and videos like you would music at home. Consumption of educational content does not require full sensory attention. As long as the content is "heard" it gets a chance to be stored and accessed when needed. This also helps with exposure and expansion of business and academic lexicon.

2- Share a resume of your reading and media consumption throughout the day at the dinner table.

Openness to learning and expanding one's horizon no matter the age, status and education is an attitude and can be fostered by modeling. By sharing what types of content you consume and what you find of high value information, you model selection and filtering media for valuable content for your kids.

3- Be patient and inviting.

Building habits take time and consistency. Avoid repressing rebuttals and resistance at the beginning. If children show lack of interest or resistance, accept, empathize, use humor and let it pass. Continue with tips number 1 and 2 and it will only be a matter of time you see results.