I would like to tell you about Caitlin, a wonderful 11-year British girl, who attended one of my SoulKids™ workshops in Singapore.
Caitlin arrived with her mum and dad on the morning of the 1st day of the program. Her physical appearance and the look in her eyes did not express much confidence. She walked slowly with her shoulders down and her eyes followed her shoulders to the ground; not a confident “here I am” kind of look. When she entered the room where some of the other kids were playing and having fun, I noted a bit of a curious expression on her face indicating: “ok, let’s see.”.
When starting up the class, I am always observing the children to see their reactions and responses to the new setting and mentor (i.e. me). This helps me to build connection and interaction with each child. I was also observing Caitlin and I noticed that she started opening up soon after we began. Her eyes started shining more and more and I could see in her expression that her curiosity had turned into a readiness to learn and grow. In just 30 minutes Caitlin was fully present and enjoying herself.
She was a very active participant during the 2 days, very much enjoying the games and stories and taking in the various life skill lessons. She grew immensely during the workshop. I could see, hear and feel it. And when she left the class, she walked out as a more self-aware and more self-confident young girl.
I love to hear feedback from the children and/or the parents about any changes they have seen after attending SoulKids™. And so I spoke with Caitlin’s dad three weeks after the class.
He told me the following when I asked him whether he had observed any impact from the class on Caitlin: “yes we did Anton. We have been amazed and so impressed by her. At dinner the evening after completing the class, Caitlin told us that it was her long felt dream to run for year president at her school. We did not know this, we did not expect this, she never told us before. We were so glad to hear. And then, even more amazingly, she told us that she still had a week to nominate herself to become the new year president and that she was now going to run for it!”
I felt so impressed with Caitlin and asked the dad how things went.
He said: “she has done it, she has presented herself to many other pupils on various occasions and after 2 selection rounds, there are only 2 candidates left in the race and one of them is Caitlin! SoulKids has helped tremendously to grow her self-confidence to pursue her dream!”.
I am always thrilled to hear this type of feedback. Children have so much power. And sometimes they need some help and support to bring it out. As a SoulKids™ mentor and coach, it is my greatest passion to instill self-confidence in children. I call it the ‘secret ingredient’ for a happy and successful life.