We were the ones known as rebels, the ones who gave the adults a run for their money and drove our parents insane.
We were notorious for pushing the limits, our fierce independence and the inherent need to question everything.
We were called impossible, hard headed and just flat-out stubborn.
If you grew up as a stubborn child, I’m sure you’re reading this with a grin and thinking, “Yeah, that’s me.”
See I was — who am I kidding, I still am — the stubborn child in my family, and I have yet to live down all the hell I raised and put my parents through. Granted, I could’ve been a lot worse, but like my mother likes to tell me, “you weren’t exactly the easiest child to raise.”
It wasn’t until my family began to expand with little nieces and nephews that I saw and understood the other side of what it’s like trying to raise stubborn children.
The level of frustration, the amount of patience and the countless stern looks of “do what I say or else” all make me laugh because I remember being the cause of all of the above for my parents.
To this day, I find myself apologizing for putting them through all of that. However, I’m always quick to remind them that my stubbornness growing up should be viewed as more of a blessing than a curse.
I may have been hard to handle, too smart for my own good and living by Cartman’s mantra of, “It’s my life, I’ll do what I want.”
But all of those annoying characteristics that made me a pain in the ass as a child turned into positive attributes as an adult.
Here’s why I think growing up a stubborn child makes you a better adult:
1. They’re determined.
Being stubborn automatically means you’re determined, and at times, to a fault. No matter what, you know what you want and you will find a way to get it.
Weighing the risks and finding out which avenue to pursue in order to get your desired result is something that comes as second nature.
Most saw our determination as insubordination, but that is only because the word “no” really didn’t mean “no” to us. It just meant we had to find another way to get someone to say “yes.”
This lovely characteristic gave all stubborn children excellent people-reading skills; after all, you had to figure out the person who was most likely to give you what you wanted.
It also made us become resourceful and provided us with the tenacity to succeed in whatever we truly wanted.
2. They’re fiercely independent.
Our independence is one of our strongest qualities. We live by our own rules. Growing up, help was the last thing you wanted from people. I mean, why would you need someone’s help when you could do it all yourself, or so we used to think.
We are independent to the point that it drives people crazy. We hold high expectations of ourselves, so as children, we would throw the biggest fits if anyone tried to lend a hand.
It never mattered if we actually could do it ourselves or not; the point was we felt we could and no one could tell us any different.
Our independent nature taught us to be self-reliant, both emotionally and physically, early in life.
That has only become stronger with age. We never let anyone else determine our self-worth.
We know who we are, where we stand and we don’t budge unless we want.
3. They’re natural-born leaders.
Being stubborn meant you tended to be a natural born leader since you always found yourself in charge of others.
When you’re young and a leader, the word “bossy” appears in more than one occasion. And, why shouldn’t it? After all, you had a way of telling people what and how to do certain things correctly.
When we were young, this proved to be one of the difficult attributes to handle for most adults because it meant we couldn’t be controlled.
A reason as to why we had to do something needed to be provided and considered justifiable before it would be done. This means “because I said so” was never a good enough reason.
As natural-born leaders, we are able to see things from different perspectives.
We learn not to take things at face value, to trust our instincts and to always do our own investigating before making decisions.
We are not easily intimidated and will take on whatever life throws at us.
4. They’re opinionated.
Whether you want to hear it or not, we have opinions and we will most likely share them, especially if we are asked.
We have specific ideas of what we consider right and wrong, and we don’t mind fighting for our views. We stick to our opinions, whether you agree or not.
Our blunt and honest answers hurt us when we’re young because our brain filters fail to work at full capacity; we end up saying things we shouldn’t say aloud.
This leads to many awkward moments, hurt feelings and confused looks of, “Well why did you ask me if you weren’t ready for the answer?”
With age, our filters become more effective and we are able to use our opinions to draw attention to other points of view. We begin to pick our battles when it comes to fighting for our beliefs.
Strictly original, our opinions come from well thought-out discussions and personal experiences.
Being a stubborn child may have its difficulties to begin with, but in the end, all the lessons learned and experience gained creates a passionate, driven, self-sufficient and outspoken adult.
- Elite Daily
