This comes from a book entitled The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson, Ph.D.
He notes that when you are doing what you love, what you are meant to do, the time and effort required is irrelevant. He notes that many people refer to this happy state of focus as being in a "zone" and adds:
Activities we love fill us with energy even when we are physically exhausted. Activities we don't like can drain us in minutes, even if we approach them at our physical peak of fitness.
When people place themselves in situations that lead to their being in the zone, they tap into a primal source of energy. They are literally more alive because of it.
We - as parents, teachers, and caregivers - have a beautiful window into just what this zone is for the little ones in our life. We can use this information to guide them in the future. Simply by watching children play, we can see their gifts, their strengths, their passions. As Ken Robinson continues,
This is about looking into the eyes of your children or those you care for and, rather than approaching them with a template about who they might be, trying to understand who they really are. Left to their own devices, what are they drawn to do? What kinds of activities do they tend to engage in voluntarily? What sorts of aptitude do they suggest? What absorbs them the most? What sort of questions do they ask, and what type of points do they make?
Want to hear more from Ken Robinson? Check out these two videos from TED Conferences where he has spoken about creativity and education:
http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/sir_ken_robinson_bring_on_the_revolution.html
Happy New Year, everybody!!
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