Quotes & Sayings for Growing Teens

The teenage years are very exciting and at the same time turbulent years for most young people.We have all passed this period of self discovery and identity exploration.These are the years where we decide what type of language we want to use with our peers,which haircuts we want to adorn ourselves with,the type of boyfriends or girlfriends or whose arms we will be on etc.These are also the years where we pick on vices and bad habits.Most regular smokers start in their teen years,the same way people smoke their first joint or experiement with drugs and first go on binges between the ages of 12 and 18. Parents, guardians, teachers, community leaders,spiritual leaders and elders in general are key to fostering and nurturing teenagers.However,there are many cases in which they are either absent or that the external influences are much more overwhelming.The idea is that if there are goods, music, fashion, food directly marketed to teenagers,then there should also be training material,coaching information, words of encouragement and guidance to positively guide and advice teenagers.The world can be confusing and even adulthood doesnt guarantee clarity and steadfastness in times of storms.This list maps out words and phrases immortalised by people who earned their fame through their philosophical leadership, entrepeneurial skills or humanatarian work,sporting excellence or just good old sayings.All these enable learning, appliation or just reflection on when we meet challenges or use to persevere when we have goals and dreams.These can really be adopted by anyone,however,having identified teenagers and teenagehood as a vulnerable time,this article is dedicated to them.

·                  "Behold the turtle. He only makes progress when he sticks his neck out." James Bryant Conant

This quote speaks volumes of character. In many cases, teenagers can suffer bad influence or going with the flow. However, it’s only when an individual decides to go with their gut feeling ad conviction that things can change. Think about it, you either stand for something or fall for anything. Standing for something makes you a leader.

·                  "Edison failed 10, 000 times before he made the electric light. Do not be discouraged if you fail a few times."
Napoleon Hill

Failure is a part of life. Its a learning curve that we all have to pass through to achieve our success. There are many anecdotes of how successful people have had to overcome failure and even naysayers to claim their glory. The list of successful people who make up this list is endless. Apart from Thomas Edison, other names are Bill Gates, Mary J. Blige, Les Brown and others.

·                  "Be the change that you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi

This quote is very empowering because that are many situations which we would like to change without lifting a finger ourselves. You want a clean house then pick up the broom, you want to be the class rep then start acting like a leader, you want a clean and attractive neighbourhood like the cosy suburbs across the highway, then don’t litter. The examples are endless and the starting point is thinking about the ideal situation we want and then taking up a key role in reaching this euphoria we want.

·                  "I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars." Og Mandino

This quote is similar to "The darkest hour is just before dawn". In order to enjoy pleasant times, we sometimes have to go through very tough times. The trick is to endure with faith. Think about what is takes to do very well in exams. It takes sacrifice. It takes missing movie nights with friends or late nights at the clubs.

·                  "Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have preferred to talk." Doug Larson

Listening is a skill that many have not mastered, young or old eve though its a magnificent skill. Its a skill which will come handy in a person's career and relationships. Sometimes teenagers opt to slam doors instead of sitting down and listening. Listening allows a person to calm down, think, empathise and respond appropriately.

·                  "To be a great champion you must believe you are the best. If you're not, pretend you are." Muhammad Ali

Mohammed Ali is known for his confident talk. His really stung his opponents so he had weight behind his claims. In this quote, he does not want to transmit that its okay to provoke people or incite conflict or be nasty. He is merely saying that we all doubt ourselves and our abilities now and again and if in doubt self-talk will give us that extra edge to believe in ourselves again. This trick works well if you are shy or need to act or do something in public. Our greatest fears are really unfound.

·                  "The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore." Dale Carnegie

In this day and age, it seems that it’s easier to do what everyone else is doing. If you do what everyone is doing then you will keep getting what everyone is getting. Do you want to be an engineer, or professor, or sports coach or mayor, then get to know what these personalities did to get there. The deciding factor is not the fact that no one from your family finished high school, the deciding factor is you going to meet the mayor and asking him to mentor you to be like him in the future. Successful people love mentoring and transferring knowledge and skills. However, its very important to show willingness and initiative. For example, work out a time that doesn’t take up too much of his time and do some homework around his job and responsibilities in order to ask pointed and informed questions.

·                  "Everyone who got where he is has had to begin where he was." Robert Louis Stevenson

Music videos and bling in general can be deceptive. It makes youngsters believe that their music video heroes were born like that or that success was overnight. If you have a sports, music, business, spiritual or social hero and role-model then read up and investigate their story and rise to fame. The road is usually speed bumps and potholes, However these individuals resolution an determination has been the deciding fator.

·                  "The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."
Chinese proverb

This quote is similar to the one above by Napoleon Hill .If you want to shine be prepared to go through the right of passage which includes physical, emotional and psychological trials. All we see is Kobe Bryant making amazing passes, but in the background and his professional sports history he has cleared many challenging hurdles. Think about the number of practice shots he needs to make in order to make the lay-ups, three point scores and the famous AND-1's.

·                  "Duty makes us do things well, but love makes us do them beautifully." Zig Ziglar

The teenage years can be so tough and disheartening that an attitude of me against the world appears. Love and compassion don’t mean weakness. They mean maturity and sentiment to fortify relationships and relate better to other. Today many teenagers are angry with themselves and the world ad forget to laugh at life and themselves as well as relating to their siblings, parents, teachers and communities with affection and love.