Change Yourself First

If you’re having discipline challenges with a child or student, the natural tendency is to try to change the person’s behavior. That’s why coercive discipline techniques like using imposed punishments, rewards, and telling are so prevalent. But remember that no one changes another person; people change themselves.

To that end, if you want the people around you to change, the best place to start is with yourself. Change your own approach to handling the behavior. Change how YOU motivate the person to want to change.

To determine the best changes to make in yourself that will result in other person being motivated to change, ask yourself this important question:

“If I were a child, would I want me as a parent?”

And if you’re a teacher, ask yourself this:

“If I were a student, would I want me as a teacher?”

What would you change to make your answer an enthusiastic “yes”?

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