Andrey Podolsky: “The strength of today’s youth lies in courage and the willingness to take risks”

With the support of Innopraktika, the owner of the idea for the show, the Gazprom-Media holding company and Gazprombank, one of the largest banks in Russia, we created a special project “I can do everything” , in which we spoke to readers and experts. What challenges did the participants of the show face, is it true that soft skills are at the head of everything, and what advice on raising children is the most harmful – we learned from Andrey Podolsky, doctor of psychology and broadcast consultant.

My colleagues and I came up with recommendations that I hope were helpful to the show organizers when compiling the list of guys included in teams. We discussed everything in detail with the host Natalya Popova. And then they came to the set with their “psychological landing” to talk in detail with the “smart” participants. And we received a lot of interesting material for research, we have already started working with it.

At the heart of the show is a serious challenge – trying to bring completely different people together and make them work together. It is this process that interested us as researchers: what happens when it is necessary to solve common problems with people who have a completely different mentality and type of behavior?

It was a discovery for the guys that they have to be more tolerant. Someone may be very different from you, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad and you can’t accept them. The truth is not God knows how much, but the participants are young, not all have a great social experience.

It is important that our “wise men” realize fairly quickly that they have a lot to learn from bloggers and artists – for example, confidence, casualness. After all, in other people we often pay attention first and foremost to what we don’t like. And you need to be able to put another person’s image together into a single image from separate parts. And in this regard, the show became for participants a training in interaction with people of other professions.

The perspective that is emerging is to try to make the most of the skills of the “wise men”. And our youth, hundreds of thousands of spectators, to bring additional elements of reflection: what gives a person a scientific, intellectual activity, teaching in a university? Sure, getting a million views on a social network is cool, but something completely different can be cool.

We understand that young people now have big problems with defining the values ​​of life. I’ve been doing this for many years and keep track of what’s going on. Those who are now choosing their own path into adulthood need support. And this kind of story, like this unusual reality show, taking into account the perception of the participants themselves and the reaction of the public, helps a lot. We talked about it a lot when we were preparing the project and we had already started filming, and, if I’m not mistaken, some colleagues from TNT had an interesting idea. Based on the Challenge’s fan base, a club will be created that will bring together active teenagers and young people. They will discuss and evaluate the participants in many ways, their relationships, behavior, successes and failures. If it works, it will be very cool.

Now everyone is actively discussing 21st century skills, soft skills. It’s great that the new generation is developing them at home. Indeed, it is possible to improve one’s critical thinking and reflection, to have self-regulation capacities, communicative talents. But if it is not based on a stable moral and value base, then all the fashionable skills are worthless. This question is now in the foreground. And if you do not engage in the formation of values, it is difficult to expect victories from the generation.

It is the very courage and willingness to take risks that have so delighted our “wise men” in their “star” partners and rivals. Another thing is that a lack of caution can do harm.

But the generation also has an advantage without any but. Today, a young man or a young woman who chooses a profession has the possibility of embracing much broader perspectives than 7 to 10 years ago. Just be willing and set a clear goal. Now, there are platforms that match expectations with abilities, choosing the work of a lifetime, and the task of adults is to teach young people how to use these techniques.

There’s more than enough advice for families right now, and a lot of it isn’t to be trusted. I can say that the most harmful thing is to lead the child on the path that seems good to mom or dad. The most destructive for the individual is the so-called instrumental type of parenting – when the child becomes a means of self-affirmation and the achievement of heights that parents failed to achieve in their lives. A person, even a young one, ultimately makes his own choice and is responsible for it. But he needs help.