Resourcefulness in Other Ways

Resourcefulness in other ways

Here at True Balance Karate in Downers Grove, Illinois, we have a social-emotional learning program called True Character. I’m Master H, the owner and chief instructor here at the studio, and I have two master’s degrees in education. We’ve developed this curriculum to best meet the needs of our youngest students who are three and four, and our oldest student, who is 85.

And this month we are talking about resourcefulness, being aware of our surroundings and using them to help us overcome difficulties, being a really good problem solver and being creative, coming up with ideas, having a whole lot of integrity, and really just trying to figure out how to solve whatever it is that we’re facing at this time and doing it in a positive way.

And so we started off talking about what resourceful people look like. What kinds of things do they do? What do they pay attention to? Last time we talked about what it looks like at school or at work, advocating for yourself, asking questions, thinking about what you can use within the space to help you solve the problem, or what other resources are at your fingertips.

And this week, we’re talking about let’s be a little bit creative. Let’s come up with a few ideas. Checklists are a great resource. I don’t know about you guys but sometimes the tasks are long, students at school have homework. If we have an assignment notebook or a little notebook that we walk around with … I’m always walking around with this, a little day planner, and each day I mark down what I’m going to do. That helps me remember everything that I need to do. It’s a resource for me to look back and be like, “Oh, I didn’t get this done.”

It helps me from the standpoint of then I can cross off what I’ve gotten completed, what I know I can do, what I need help with. I can make little notes like, “Hey, go ask this person about this information.”

Having something that’s readily available to jot things down is a great resource. And I know that we start this when our students are younger, third grade, fourth grade, when they’re able to write, that kind of thing, that’s when they’re starting to own some of that stuff, so teaching them to use that as a resource. In my house, we had a chore list as I was growing up. The chore list was on the fridge and we would just mark it off as we completed our chores. And it just helped us remember what was my responsibility and when. My sister and I traded off whose day it was for the dishes. That’s why we really needed a list to help us remember that way. That’s a good resource to have.

Creating checklists, creating picture schedules, creating reminders, setting alarms. Those are all good resources that we can utilize, that we can use, that can help us solve any difficulties that we have. If we’re practicing an instrument, looking through our day, “This is the day I will always practice my instrument. I’m going to set my timer, I’m going to do it for 20 minutes.”

Or 10 minutes, or whatever it might be. And then it just becomes this habit. And we’ve solved the problem, we’ve made it a little bit easier on ourselves. And so as we’re talking about resourcefulness, as we’re wrapping up this month, it’s about looking around and seeing what other skills can we own? What other skills can we figure out how to do more independently, more just automatically, rather than having to think it through and write it all down? And then it’s about using what resources we have within our community. The library is a great resource, going to the library, having that quiet place to sit down and work is a great resource. Some of us use coffee shops as a great resource to be able to sit down and be creative and do whatever it is that we need to do.

If we’re thinking about how we will best be able to do what we need to do, if we’re thinking about what problem are we trying to solve right now? Then we have to come up with that creative solution and utilize those resources. And that’s how you become a resourceful person. And so I would challenge you, now that we’re wrapping up resourcefulness, think about something in your life that you want to own, want to do independently, that’s for my younger kids. Or as a grown-up, as an adult, want to do more automatically and not have to think about it as much. Meal planning, meal prepping, I’m not entirely sure, but what would you like to make a little bit easier on yourself? And then come up with a creative solution. Use your resources, ask family members, ask other knowledgeable people and see what they think about solving the problem and come up with a solution that way. And that will be how you wind up ending the month and demonstrating your resourcefulness.

Thanks, and I’ll see you on the mat!

True Balance Karate was founded in 2012 by Master Sue and Paul Helsdon.

We offer kids karate lessons for pre-school children ages 3-6 and elementary age kids ages 7 and up. These lessons are designed to develop the critical building blocks kids need — specialized for their age group — for school excellence and later success in life.

Our adult martial arts training is a complete adult fitness and conditioning program for adults who want to lose weight, get (and stay) in shape, or learn self-defense in a supportive environment.

Instructors can answer questions or be contacted 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week at 630-663-2000. You can also contact us here. True Balance Karate is at 406 Ogden Ave Downers Grove Illinois, 60515 (next to CVS) Check out our Facebook!