Kintsugi Mindset to Inspire Your Youth Work
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold, turning cracks and imperfections into wonderful masterpieces. This philosophy of bringing beauty out of brokenness holds profound meaning when applied to youth work.
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Kintsugi: Finding resilience in brokenness
For many young people, life can feel overwhelming. They may have to navigate trauma, personal struggles, societal pressures, and daily challenges. And these difficult experiences can leave them feeling broken. However, just as pottery is repaired with gold, young people can learn to find strength in their own brokenness.
Being "broken" doesn’t mean being weak or less valuable. Instead, it’s an opportunity to learn, grow, and transform. Just like a broken bowl can be repaired to create something unique, youth can use their challenges to build resilience. Whether they’re facing academic difficulties, experiencing loss, or dealing with peer pressure, these hard experiences don’t define them as failures. Instead, they offer chances for inner strength and deep purpose to eventually emerge.
As a youth worker, you can help young people view their challenges through this hope-filled and empowering lens. And encourage them to see their setbacks as part of their growth story.
Embracing imperfections
Kintsugi teaches us that flaws and breaks are part of real life. For young people, this is a reassuring message. Growing up can feel overwhelming with pressures to fit in, excel, and appear perfect. But just like repaired pottery, imperfections make us unique and beautiful. You can encourage young people that it’s okay to be imperfect. And that healing and growth take time. It’s through these imperfections that their inner strength and resilience shine through. This mindset shift can inspire hope, reduce feelings of shame, and encourage youth to keep moving forward even when things seem hard.
Kintsugi isn't only about repair—it's about transformation. As a youth worker, your role is to help young people find strength in their vulnerabilities. And provide the tools to rebuild and grow stronger.
Inspiring a kintsugi mindset shift in young people
Here are some ideas you can implement to provide young people with the kinds of support and inspiration that foster a kintsugi mindset:
- Create safe spaces: Let young people talk about their struggles without fear of judgment. When youth feel supported and understood, they can begin to heal and rebuild.
- Celebrate progress: Emphasize how overcoming obstacles makes them stronger and wiser. And make sure to celebrate their wins small or big along the way.
- Model resilience: Share your own stories of overcoming challenges. This reminds young people that they are not alone in their struggles. And draw inspiration from your journey.
- Encourage problem-solving: Help youth think of solutions instead of focusing on failures. This can foster creativity and instill a growth mindset.
Kintsugi’s philosophy teaches that beauty often emerges from brokenness, and strength is found in the cracks. By applying this to youth work, you can encourage young people to embrace their struggles and find value in their imperfections. Through resilience, vulnerability, and intentional rebuilding, youth can transform adversities into sources of strength. Just as the art of kintsugi transforms broken pottery into something striking, young people can transform their lives into something remarkable.
To learn more about supporting young people, check out YIPA’s online training for youth workers: Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Youth Work. To be inspired by a fellow youth worker, listen to Cailee Fitzgerald's podcast episode, "This Does Not Mean I Cannot Achieve Great Things" on The Passionate Youth Worker podcast.
About the author
Yedidya Erque is the operations associate of the Youth Intervention Programs Association (YIPA), a non-profit association of youth-serving organizations. We're your source for exceptional, affordable, personal and professional online learning via The Professional Youth Worker. Join us!
To ask Yedidya a question or share your feedback about this blog, email yedidya@yipa.org.
