If ever there was a time in your life when you are faced with constant changes and transitions in life, its got be those older teenage years and through your 20's. For someone close to 50 I think back at all the changes that happened in my life and how unprepared I was for some of them. I look now at young people and they still have all the same changes and challenges to come but there is an added pressure I think that I didn't have and that's social media. Life can be tough enough adapting and being exposed to change and while social media can be great for people in terms of opening up communication and lines of support, it can also have a negative impact on confidence and self esteem and make dealing with change a lot harder.
For many 18 year olds, they may be leaving home for the first time and going away to college or university - leaving the comfort and safety net of home (I accept, not all in cases) and for the first time they will be expected to grasp independent living skills and deal with new routines and new people. Their living environment changes, their social life changes, their finances probably change - all at once. If college or university isn't on the cards, then people could be going straight into a work setting for the first time. Again, faced with a whole new environment, new colleagues, new expectations, new rules and routines - big change.
How does someone cope with all that change at once if they typically have low confidence and self esteem, if they have had little experience of independent living, or struggle in new social circles. Its tough and many young people wont know how tough it is until they are right in the middle of it - after all how can you know what to really expect if you've never done this stuff before? There's so much to think about!
Being resilient and adaptable and comfortable with change is no easy thing for some people - this is where coaching and mentoring can help. I am particularly interested in supporting young people through all the changes life will be throwing at them, helping make them more resilient and able to cope with all this new stuff being thrown at them.
