The Secret To Reaping More Rewards From Life

What is the secret to reaping rewards from life? (Rewards like getting a cool job, or getting more privileges at home, such as more access to your parents' car).

Being responsible.

What’s the image you have of responsibility? You probably have a picture of an uptight, burdensome adult with no sense of fun or humour. Responsible persons are often depicted that way in TV and movies. However, responsibility has nothing to do with age and does not rob you of your fun, charisma nor personality. In fact, it allows you to be the best YOU possible, while gaining the respect of those around you.

Here are some suggestions and benefits of being responsible:

Suggestion: Get organised. With all the activities besides school and/or that you may be involved in, it does not bade well for you if you miss or are perpetually late for your events. Therefore, get a daily planner or make a list to prioritise your tasks and ensure that you are where you need to be when you need to be there.

Benefit: In addition to the respect of all you interact with, your head will be clearer. You won’t be as harried or rushed as someone who did not take the time to plan their activities. You also will not miss out on activities you really want to do because you forgot or let things get out of control.

Suggestion: Do your homework diligently and on time. Try to complete it all and if you don’t understand, research additional sources to get a wider perspective on the topic. Meet your deadlines and always present your work tidily and organised to your teacher or tutor.

Benefit: This shows the teacher that you are interested in learning and encourages her to give you special points for effort or even give you additional help should it be required. There is a welcome improvement in the grades in store as well.

Suggestion: Take opportunities given by your parents, teachers and other elders to behave responsibly seriously e.g. taking care of a younger sibling or delivering a message correctly and quickly.

Benefit: Your parents, teachers and elders will respect and trust you more. This could lead to increased leadership opportunities and additional privileges, e.g. access to the car, more internet and TV time or a later curfew.

Suggestion: When you get to borrow your parents' car, make sure fill it up with gas and volunteer to wash it occasionally. Sometimes you can even chip in for its maintenance.

Benefit: Less fighting for use of the car!

Suggestion: Volunteer in a youth group or organisation designed to help the less fortunate.

Benefit: Not only will it look good on your resume in the future, it will make you appreciate all that you have in life. There is also the inner peace that comes with helping others less fortunate than ourselves.

Suggestion: Do you chores – e.g. laundry, cleaning/tidying your room – in a timely manner without having to be prodded by your parents.

Benefit: The trust of your parents goes a long way. They will trust that you will be safe to leave home alone while they are at work. They just may give you additional privileges. Also you develop the habit of keeping a clean area for your own house which would keep away pests like roaches and mice.

Suggestion: Keep your grades in school/college up.

Benefit: There is the Island Scholarship and other academic scholarships to consider that are dependent on your performance in school. Additionally, it makes it easier to get into programmes such as the Law programme at UWI that have a quota and are difficult to enter. There is also the thought of an Honours degree, especially first class, and how that looks to employers on your CV.

Suggestion: Tell your parents or elders where you are going and with whom. You may also tell them the time that you expect to be back. For our older readers, this may be strange if you feel as though you are a young adult and you could do as you like. However, doing this can bring down any animosity if you live at home by showing your parents that you still respect their role in your life, even if it is not the same as before.

Benefit: Not only do you gain your parents' trust that you are not participating in some indecent or unsavoury activity and save them worry, there is the promise of additional freedom that comes with parents’ confidence that you will keep your word in terms of where you will be, with whom and when you will be back. Secondly, in case something should happen to you, they would be able to act much quicker in locating you and ensuring your safety.

Suggestion: Pay attention to your overall hygiene and always wear clean clothes.

Benefit: you will be less offensive to others who will be less likely to shun you.

Suggestion: Be polite and respectful to peers, teachers, parents and others you interact with without waiting for them to do it first.

Benefit: You are more likely to receive the respect of others around you. A good reputation has its own benefits, especially as it relates to referrals and references.

It is often said that you get out of life what you put into it. This is true in that should you be responsible from your youth, invest hard work and diligence, and show respect for self and others, you will gain greater rewards than if you just float through life hoping for the best. So don’t view responsibility as a burden but rather as a gift of foresight for those who want to get the very best out of life.