Our society is often quick to embrace and celebrate prodigies and people doing noteworthy things at young ages. In youth-centric–or, some might even say, youth-obsessed–cultures, like, perhaps, the United States, people who take longer to develop, or take more time to find their footing in life, are usually not celebrated in the same ways as the young gifted learner, musician, or athlete, for instance. Because of this, late-bloomers can often be overlooked, casually dismissed–or worse yet, completely written off by people more enamored with quick results and individuals showing early outward signs of success and stardom.

However, it is not exactly difficult to find late-bloomers–they happen to be everywhere: in our families; in our friendship groups; in our work places; in our schools; and maybe even in our own beings. With that understanding in mind, I want to highlight four things to consider when it comes to working with–and celebrating–the later-developing people in your own life. Written from an educator’s perspective–and a person who also just happens to be a late-bloomer–let’s now take a closer look into our key principles for this discussion.

1. Celebrate Small Steps and Victories:

For late-bloomers not used to experiencing immediate success, or results-on-demand, when you can come alongside your later-developing charges and help them celebrate small wins and victories, it can often help propel them to greater levels of success and confidence–in the here-and-now and also down the road, as well. Adolescence is a time where many young people can suffer under the pressures and illusions of comparison, and when they see that others are experiencing success–or being recognized for their achievements–much earlier than them, well, it can make students doubt themselves, often leading to a deflated self-image and decreased levels of self-efficacy. But that is where you can step-in as someone who sees their hidden, or temporary dormant, talent and can help them cultivate, and hone, their individual gifts, skills, and abilities that will benefit themselves (and even others). Having unconditional positive regard for students helps them feel safe and empowered to be themselves and develop at their own natural pace. It can also allow you to have a greater sphere of influence as you encourage, cheer-on, push, inspire, and motivate your late-blooming students to catch up to–or even bypass–their peers in many areas of growth and development. No positive action step or victory is too small. You can help your late-bloomers see that they have what it takes to experience growth and success in their own natural ways and time-frames. Just remember: A little bit of encouragement can go a long way!

2. Embrace and Cultivate Varied Interests, Skills, Hobbies, and Passions:

For late-bloomers, often one of the biggest challenges and frustrations is not being able to identify, or initially find, that one thing that they are really good or skilled at. One way to help students get around this sticking point may be helping to encourage them to be well-rounded; to have varied interests; and to try out an abundance of hobbies and healthy activities, and to see what sticks, so to speak. As an educator, or person of influence, you can show your students what a well-rounded; versatile; and interesting person looks like in real life. This is one reason why I like to sometimes share with students what my real-life hobbies and interests are: to show them that no two people are completely alike and that it’s totally OK to enjoy, and be interested in, many–sometimes very different–things in life. If students know that they don’t have to identify just one thing from an early age that they are skilled at, they may, instead, develop many skills and competencies as they progress through their young lives, which can often also serve them particularly well as they work within collaborative team situations and in the building of relationships–both personally and, later, professionally.

3. Be Patient: Know That Students Aren’t Finished Products:

While this point can apply to most any individual striving to continue to learn and grown in life, it rings especially true for students. I meet daily with students under a lot of internal and external pressure to get into the college of their dreams or to figure out what they want to do with their lives at fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, or eighteen years old. But if we go back in time to ask ourselves if we had all the answers–or the ultimate road map as a teenager that step-by-step laid out the exact journey for us to follow for the rest of our lives–well, we would probably get a good laugh at the folly of such an idea! But that is exactly where adults can come alongside our young people and encourage them to step out of their comfort zones; try new things they might not initially be good at; ask a lot of questions; and practice self-love and self-patience. We know that many of our late-blooming students will eventually go on to lead interesting, impactful, and successful lives. Let’s help them get there one small step at a time, as we wait for the manifestation of results that we may or may not see over the course of our work with them. Sometimes, the fruits of our work with students may not fully bloom until years down the road–and that’s completely OK.

4. Encourage Life-Span Development and ‘Playing the Long-Game’:

Being the classical late-bloomer myself (as a learner; socially; physically, etc.), I know how beneficial it can be to “play the long-game,” so to speak–and to not worry so much about age-based milestones; or if it takes me longer to pick something up or more time to develop proficiency with different skills or benchmarks. I know that if I want something bad enough, and am patient enough to put in the work, I may eventually get better and better at something (now if only I knew those things at a much younger age!). It is no different for our students, as few of us start off in life as naturally-gifted prodigies. For most of us, we are lucky if we are at a mediocre level when we start something new; but, most of the time, we will often be underwhelming (if not laughable) when we start something brand-new for the first time. Student need to know that not only is it OK to fail at something new, but, that in the long-run, it will actually help them develop more self-confidence; perseverance; patience; determination–and even empathy towards others. Helping students become life-long learners and encouraging them to shed the self-induced stressors and pressures to be great at things at an early age means that all students–not just late-bloomers–will have more room to grow and develop into happy, confident, and well-rounded young people (now and also well into the future).

–The Blue-Collar Counselor