Parenting Pointers: Tenacity

I recently had a chance to interview Dr. Sam Goldstein, Ph. D, about tenacity and why it's so important.

How do you define tenacity and why is it important?

Tenacity is composed of seven instincts we articulate in detail in our new book, Tenacity in Children: Nurturing the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Success.

Our children are in fact hard wired to learn if we are sufficiently knowledgeable to understand how their wiring interacts with the world around them and create environments in which they can grow and thrive. Every society places expectations upon its youth to acquire a certain level of knowledge and behavior in order to functionally transition into adulthood. No matter how simple the society, children must harness their instincts to acquire knowledge, develop self-discipline, cope well with adversity, and persist even in the face of failure. The instincts comprising Tenacity provide the critical foundation for children in any culture or society to acquire the necessary knowledge to transition successfully into adult life.

 

What are some ways that parents can model tenacity for their children?

Parents effectively engaging in the processes necessary to foster and reinforce these instincts possess an implicit, explicit, or even intuitive understanding of how they can help their children acquire self-discipline and a resilient mindset. In our first book, Raising Resilient Children, we suggested that capable parents’ guide their interactions with children through a blueprint of important principles, ideas, and actions.We pointed out that grasping the complexities of this blueprint is an ongoing process filled with challenges, frustrations, setbacks, and successes. We have come to appreciate that there is much variability housed in this blueprint of knowledge, ideas, and actions; a blueprint that to be effective requires modification for each child. Though parents may wish for the one true, golden path to children’s future, such a path doesn’t exist. However, understanding the role of these seven instincts will comfort and provide parents with the knowledge to help their children.

While the path to adulthood is shaped by countless factors including children’s temperament, family style and values, educational and social experiences, and the broader society and culture in which children are raised, the principles and ideas of these instincts are universal and applicable to everyone.

 

Why do you consider the traits in your book the "seven instincts?”

Instincts and traits are not one in the same.  An inherited trait is a physical characteristic that is passed from parents to their offspring. A behavior is a way of acting. Inherited behaviors are called instincts. Learned behaviors are not inherited but learned from others. Children come into this world with different temperaments and other inborn attributes. Like diamonds, no two are exactly alike. However, all are genetically endowed to some extent with the seven instincts of Tenacity. It is our charge as shepherds of the next generation to nurture and develop these instincts in all children regardless of their temperament, behavior, achievement, or development. These seven instincts form the lifelong foundation of a resilient mindset and effective self discipline.

Each chapter in our new book explores and defines the strategies required to

foster and enhance these instincts in every child and in doing so, in ourselves.

 TENACITY IN CHILDREN: Nurting the Seven Instincts for Lifetime Success examines how multiple generations of parents and caregivers raised children to become successful adults. Until relatively recent times in human history, there were no schools or organized institutions, nor were there parenting books. Rather, caregivers depended on the seven important instincts that evolved across tens of thousands of years in the human species. This volume highlights the ways in which these instincts are more important than ever in preparing children for tomorrow’s successes. Key areas of coverage include individual chapters devoted to examining each of the seven instincts – intuitive optimism, intrinsic motivation, compassionate empathy, simultaneous intelligence, genuine altruism, virtuous responsibility, and measured fairness – as well as practical strategies to guide children in acquiring and fine-tuning these essential human instincts.

Tenacity in Children provides a solid foundation to prepare children for a resilient and happy future. It offers well-defined guideposts for adults committed to providing every child with the opportunity to access, strengthen, and employ these instincts as they negotiate childhood and passage into adult life. This book also serves as a rich resource for researchers, practitioners, and graduate students in mental health and public health disciplines as well as many interrelated fields as we all strive to promote the well-being of children.

For more information, visit https://tenacityinchildren.com/.

Robert Brooks Ph.D. is currently on the faculty of Harvard Medical School (part-time) and is the former Director of the Department of Psychology at McLean Hospital, a private psychiatric hospital.  He is Board Certified in Clinical Psychology, as well as listed in the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. He has authored, co-edited or co-authored 18 books and, in addition, authored or co-authored almost three dozen book chapters and more than three dozen peer reviewed scientific articles.

 

Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, the University of Utah School of Medicine (USA). and certified School Psychologist in the State of Utah. He is also Board Certified as a Pediatric Neuropsychologist and listed in the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the National Academy of Neuropsychology. He has authored, co-edited or co-authored over fifty clinical and trade publications, three dozen book chapters, nearly three dozen peer-reviewed scientific articles and eight psychological and neuropsychological tests. Since 1980, he has served as Clinical Director of The Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.