INDEPENDENT NEWS

An International Hunt for Children’s Self Belief

Published: Thu 25 Apr 2019 05:46 PM
In the style of a well-loved Roald Dahl book, a New Zealand author has set out a challenge for children across the world to find and wear wristbands bearing the words “I Believe… In Me!”
Siubhan Green, who released a book of the same name in late 2018 says her biggest passion is for children to learn the importance of self-belief.
Siubhan says that after leaving an unhealthy relationship in 2012, she set out to try and understand why her life had not turned out as she had dreamed. After spending a number of years researching and reading, Siubhan discovered that every single event and experience throughout our lives, but most importantly during childhood, becomes ingrained in our subconscious mind in the same way that water, over time, leaves grooves down a rock face. It is this very thing that determines how our lives will unfold; whether we will be paralysed with fear to pursue the things we love, whether we will remain in relationships which do not serve us or jobs which do not fulfil us. We are not even aware it is due to inbuilt programming, a wiring of our brain, Siubhan says. Deep down, on a level that sits below our conscious awareness we simply believe we are not good enough, that we will fail, that we do not deserve the things we desire; and so we live a life of the mundane, the ordinary.
Siubhan feels passionate about her desire to make a difference in the world. There are too many adults on anti-depressants, too many teens ending their lives prematurely and too many children suffering from anxiety, she says. It is her hope that with understanding, parents and caregivers will appreciate the power their words and actions hold over children and will work towards filling them with bucket-loads of self-belief. The wristbands serve as a constant reminder for children that they “Have totally got this!” no matter what others tell them, no matter what their circumstances. It’s a reminder to help them find their passions and follow their dreams.
500 wristbands have been hidden across the globe. Siubhan says she has sent them to the UK, the US, Germany, Australia, Malta and throughout New Zealand. She says, however, that it is anyone’s guess where they all end up as she has asked people to pass them on to others, to hide wherever possible.
Once found, children are encouraged to wear them always. She invites their caregivers to add the location the bands were found to her Facebook page www.facebook.com/dragonflypressltd where they will have the opportunity to win a copy of the book, “I Believe… In Me!”
Copies of Siubhan’s book can also be ordered through this page.

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