Unstoppable! Turning Around Negative Self-Image

Young people with negative self-images really blossom when they and their parents keep a relentless focus on the positive - when they acknowledge every effort and celebrate every achievement. It's not just about praising them for what they've done but also for who they are.

It snowballs over time: success builds on success. After a while they reach a tipping point. Negative self-image falls away and the unstoppable dynamo within them surges ahead. Once they acquire a taste for success, once they see how much they're really capable of doing, there's no stopping them. Maddie, whose teacher told her she was dumb, decided she wanted to be the kind of person who was inspired to do great things. Her little bit of shyness and reservation disappeared, and were replaced by self-confidence and self-assuredness. The girl who was once told she was too stupid to be in the gifted English class went on to ace AP English along with AP Calculus and Physics - and also won four consecutive awards for community service.

Duncan, the boy who was ostracized because he marched to a different drummer, and was always inventing things and asking questions, decided to embrace the things that made him different. He would not let social conventions hold him back from having a great life. He embarked on pathways few have traveled and is today finishing a triple major at Tufts University.

Program grad Nehemiah Green wrote us of how it felt when he turned his self-image around, "Now when I speak to people I'm no longer afraid to look into their eyes."

It makes our day to see a previously shy teen stand up tall and face the world with confidence. The confidence is theirs to discover; no one can hand it to them. But parents can make sure that the evidence of their sons' and daughters' greatness is all around them - that it's recognized and acknowledged.

Much of the content of this website is excerpted from the book The Seven Biggest Teen Problems And How To Turn Them Into Strengths - Copyright © 2006 by Bobbi DePorter. All rights reserved. No part of the content of the website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. SuperCamp®, Quantum Learning® and Learning Forum® are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.