Let us encourage the youth:

Helping the youth live purposeful and meaningful lives is a noble duty that falls upon all those involved in shaping their future. Today, we ought to ask what parents, teachers, life coaches, and counselors can do to uplift youngsters' spirits as they move ahead toward their future careers.

According to social psychologist Abraham Maslow, human beings are not only wired to demand physiological needs such as a roof over their heads to remain safe and food to eat to sustain their bodies. Humans are wired to require more than physiological but social and emotional needs that nourish their souls. In Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs, the pyramid begins with physiological needs and safety at the very bottom followed by love and a sense of belonging. As you move upward toward the top of the hierarchy the pyramid ends with self-esteem and self-actualization. Youngsters need to feel respected, appreciated, encouraged, and cared for that’s how they develop their sense of belonging to their families, schools, and communities. The youth will also seek self-esteem and self-actualization rooted in their deepest ambitions for who they desire to become as future adults.

All youngsters in the process of forming their identities are driven by the need to achieve. This need fuels their desire to be recognized for what they can give back to their communities and society. Social scientists many years later after Maslow have updated the hierarchy by adding self-transcendence on the very top which is about meaning and purpose discovery. Transcendence goes beyond achieving personal dreams. Rather it is about the dedication of oneself to goals beyond any selfish gains or dreams. It is about giving from one’s self to others. Therefore, adults concerned with youth development may help the youth not only reach self-actualization but transcend in many ways. One way, as an example, school tutors may help students discover a deeper sense of purpose in life by enabling them to clarify their top values. Some examples of values are the love of learning, adventure, nature, freedom, community, compassion, volunteerism, achievement, citizenship, and creativity. There is a long list of values available on search engines such as Google. Once youngsters select the top values that resonate with them the most, they can pinpoint these values as their points of strength. Once teachers recognize their students' top strengths, they can manage the learning environment in a much more effective manner whereby the concept of a one-size-fits-all principle gets eliminated from educational curriculum designs but rather teachers may focus on tailoring strength-based curriculums that match their student's top strengths in the classroom.

Moreover, building on these character strengths is essential for school students before they start their educational journeys at universities and likewise for university students before stepping into the real world for work. Knowing one’s values can make it much easier and less confusing when making critical life decisions. These values become their criteria for making better future decisions and every decision they make can be aligned with these values. By helping the youngsters live their values they will be enabled to find their purpose in life and most importantly live their meaning by enabling them to pursue meaningful action.

Another way to help the youth think is by practicing Socratic dialogue. This form of dialogue can be practiced by parents and kids, teachers and students or life coaches and their clients. This dialogue encompasses questions designed to help individuals think in a structured manner. Such questions dig deep into motives for meaning discovery in youngsters’ minds. For example, parents can consistently ask their kids why are they choosing a specific career over others. What is the hidden value that attracts them? Is it all about the title, fame, and name? or is it only the monetary returns? Questions that elicit deeper reflections such as: Why are you going in that direction as opposed to just asking how will I succeed if I choose this direction? Has a great impact on helping youngsters understand who they are by uncovering the driving forces behind their decision-making process. In other words, are their values guiding them, or are they guided by external forces such as marketing or pressuring social and cultural trends?

In summary, it is paramount that youngsters understand who they are and identify what propels them to wake up every morning eager to pursue something bigger than themselves. Helping our youth reach this level of understanding will enable them to transcend into socially responsible and value-driven people who live and lead meaningful, joyful, and stable lives. Therefore, it is our duty as adults to help guide their thinking as they march forward toward their future careers.