Why Your Teenage Son Won
If you have kids, one of the best things they have going for them is that they say, “Why me?” Someone who doesn’t say “Why me?” is perfectly happy with whatever they get.
That’s a good attitude for your pet schnauzer who sleeps on a lumpy pillow in the kitchen and eats the same snack 24/7, but it will drive you nuts to see your teenager laze on the couch with an endless supply of nachos and Mountain Dew.
The more they say “Why me?” the better their lives will get. Alternatively, the more comfortable you make your teenagers life, the less chance of them upgrading from the couch.
How did we get into this mess?
As parents we feel responsible that our children not suffer. We hate being sick, so we try and protect them from the same. We hate feeling stupid, so we give them an education. You are probably not the only one who had to wear a sweater because your mother was cold. However, “Why me?” is not suffering, it’s the key to a better life.
Saying and pondering this question is the key to making our, and their lives better. But because most people hate the feeling, they try and protect their children from it too, and as such they create a life for their children where they never have to say, “Why me?”
Even though everyone’s “Why me?” is specific to them, they all have the same generic answer, because somehow your life should be better.
“Why you?"
Because there is more to life than what you have now. You need a bigger and better life.
The more you protect your children from saying “Why me?” the less motivated they will ever be to get off the couch. Don’t protect your children from the question, teach them how to use it to figure out what life should be.
I know you think I am saying something contrary to much you hear, about being happy with your lot and enjoy the moment, etc., etc., not to mention, smell the roses.
It’s not that any of those ideas are wrong, it’s just that one of the greatest gifts we have as humans is our ability to say, “Why me?” It really separates us from the schnauzer.
Because if we couldn’t ask, “Why me?” then we would be living in a cave reading this article by candle light.
Without nachos.