What My 9-Year Old Taught Me About Staying Authentic

What My 9-Year Old Taught Me About Staying Authentic

"What the world needs: kinder & better people, food for Gaza, Sudan, and other countries who need, more recycling."

My 9-year-old wrote this in her Mission Me journal earlier this month. Completely unprompted. No assignment, no guidance from me. Just her authentic reflection on what matters to her.

Let me be clear, we support ALL humans; we don't want anyone hurting. But what struck me wasn't her specific causes. It was that these were HER authentic thoughts, HER choices about what matters to her heart. This is what happens when children are given space to discover their own truths rather than having the world tell them what should matter to them.

At Yogamazia, authenticity is one of our core values of G.R.A.C.E. - upholding the ethics of yoga, promoting peace, honesty, and self-belief in everything we do. As our children navigate this back-to-school season - new classrooms, new teachers, and new social pressures, I've been thinking about how we can help our kids stay rooted in who they really are, even when everything around them feels overwhelming. Here are three that work in our home:

1. Teach Them the Heart-Check Practice

Every morning before my kids head to school, we do a simple grounding practice together. They place one hand on their heart, one on their belly, and take three deep breaths while saying silently, "I am a Warrior. I can stay true to myself even when things change."

I encourage them to use this anytime they feel overwhelmed during the day - before a test, when someone's being unkind, or when they feel pressure to act differently than they really are. The beautiful thing is that we can also practice this as parents. When we model this practice ourselves, our kids see that staying grounded in who we are isn't just kid stuff, it's a lifelong skill.

2. Help Them Discover Their Ikigai (Their Purpose)

The Mission Me journal is designed to help kids explore their authentic purpose or ikigai.

Instead of telling our children what should matter to them, we help them determine what their strengths are and identify their true interests and passions asking questions like:

• "What makes you excited?"

• "If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?"

• "What are you naturally good at that could help others?"

When my daughter wrote about wanting kinder people and helping countries in need, she wasn't trying to impress anyone. She was connecting with what authentically moves her. That's the power of giving kids space to discover their own truths.

3. Help Them Build Their Trusted Circle

I've learned that when we help our children identify their support network AND let them make age-appropriate decisions about who to trust and when, it actually strengthens their trust in us as parents.

I encourage my kids to identify 2-3 people in their lives - whether that's a teacher, counselor, family member, or friend - who accept them exactly as they are. People they can turn to when they feel pressure to be someone they're not.

When we respect our children's choices about their relationships and support their discernment, we're teaching them to trust their own instincts. And kids who feel trusted to make good decisions about their relationships are more likely to come to us when they really need support.

The Bigger Picture

After spending 20+ years in corporate leadership, I'm learning what my daughter instinctively knows - authentic purpose isn't about waiting for permission or approval. It's about trusting what you already know in your heart.

Just like the changing leaves that show their true colors this season, our children are discovering and expressing who they really are. Our job isn't to shape them into who we think they should be, it's to give them the tools to stay grounded in their authentic selves, even when the world tries to tell them otherwise.

What if we spent as much time helping our children identify their authentic purpose as we do researching the best backpack or water bottle? What if we approached this new school year with the same intentional clarity we bring to our own lives?

The vision we set for our families - the values we model, the presence we cultivate, the authentic connection we prioritize - matters more than any school supply we could buy.

Dr. Michelle El Khoury, Founder of Yogamazia