Keith focused on two key ideas when spending time with Madison Christian middle and high school students:
- We typically pay more attention to what is negative in life rather than the positive. This tends to shape our attitudes, conversations, and how we view our days.
- The lie that culture tells us is that "how we feel is the most important part of who we are." This is flawed thinking and leads us off course in life, with our feelings dictating our actions.
Keith then gave the students four challenges:
- If you are focusing on the negative, for two weeks write down every single thing that you complain about. At the end of each week, look back and figure out how many of those things were actually a big deal. Often, you will find that most of them were not. Our feelings can distort our reality.
- He asked the students, "If drama happened, and you did nothing with it for 24 hours, how much of it would go away on its own?" (They told him--most of it.) He then challenged them to try that. Choose to do nothing with drama for 24 hours. Most of the time, you will realize it is not worth your attention. If you are still bothered after that, talk to a trusted, wise adult to seek counsel.
- Have a healthy relationship with technology. He asked students to test the theory that less tech leads to less stress, better relationships, greater creativity, margin in life, and so much more. He gave three ways to change interactions with technology:
- As a family, use no tech for one day a week. Develop different family rhythms in place of technology in the evenings/weekends.
- Cut your screen time in half for a month (including gaming, Spotify, etc...).
- Go dark for a month. (No screens unless necessary for a school assignment. Find a group of friends to do this with to support each other).
- Look for ways to be a contributor instead of a consumer in each area of life.
MCS encourages parents to talk through these areas with your child, asking questions about what they learned and next steps they would like to take.
For more from Keith McCurdy, visit LiveSturdy.com and check out his podcasts.