No Worries

No Worries

16x40"

Mixed Media on Board

Painting #198 - In Age of Opportunity, Steinberg states that the best health education programs are successful at changing adolescent’s knowledge about risky behaviors but not in altering their behaviors. He claims that in the USA billions of dollars are spent every year on programs that teach young people about the dangers of smoking, drugs, drinking, and having unprotected sex but all have little effect on how young people actually behave. Most current health programs change what adolescents know but not how they act. Adolescents need more than information to deter their risky behaviors because they are at a point in their development where they are easily aroused and have difficulty controlling their impulses. Programs focused on helping adolescents build their capacity for self-regulation are much more effective in reducing their risky behaviors.

My painting depicts a young person who has been raised with the practice of Mindfulness. He is curious, energetic and playful. The ominous sky depicts that the dangers of the world are out there but this young person has the life skill of self-regulation. At any moment he can control his thinking, emotions and behavior to avoid perilous situations.