What I would change about mental readiness in Canada.
When you get angry, do you chose it? Or does it happen out of your own control? Does your own mind consult you before it pushes you in a moment of loneliness, or a laughter trip? When events happen around us, we usually respond naturally, with little or no control over our reactions. Because we ignore mostly everything about the natural forces we have inside that moves us like leaves in the wind, we can't be as efficient as we want to in every aspect of our lives. A bad day happens every now and then, and we all go through a hard moment in life about once a year. During those periods, our efforts and resources are not well used. It has impact on the time and money wasted to do everything. It also affects our relationships. It affects the decisions we make. It affects the decisions of our leaders as much as the efficiency of our work force. The productivity of businesses as well as the general happiness of the population is affected by our lack of understanding of the human emotional system.
Everyone has their own coping mechanisms. But these are usually not tuned in the healthiest way. Emotional coping systems that consist in pure repression usually blow up years later in terrible depressions. Other systems that consist in the absence of repression, exploding out of control, simply destroy everyone's morale, affect our jobs and families, and collectively affect the general well being of the entire population.
It is our own responsibility to educate ourselves in the understanding and management of emotional pressure in ways that does not repress it, nor project it on other in a destructive way, safekeeping our loved ones from the turmoil that we sometimes have to face in life. It leads to a healthier emotional life, a more productive attitude, a happier family life, a healthier body. A few children are already educated in a few rare schools, about handling the emotional reality of life. These children end up having better scores and health. I believe we all agree that understanding ourselves inside can only lead to a better understanding of each other, leading in turn to a happier and more productive life.
I feel it is time for our children to be educated in a non-religious philosophical development, flexible enough to accept the different beliefs of everyone, and clear enough for them to understand how to manage their lives in a more harmonious way. While adults can choose to discover it on their own, I am in favor of introducing a sane emotional training in school to children as young as 6 years old. This will result in less conflict as they grow, and more efforts put in developing their qualities and skills. It would lead the next generation to the skill level required to manage the complex world we are leaving in their hands.