I’ve decided I want to live more like a child.
That might sound ridiculous…
So let me explain.
Mum sent me a baby pic the other day…
And it got me pondering.
See, babies and children act differently to
adults…
And there may be some things we can learn from this.
Youngsters love nothing more than being curious.
They’re full of energy…
They follow their instincts…
They try things…
And they do what feels right in the moment.
Like cartwheeling across the school playground…
Finding a worm in the grass and putting it in their mouth…
Dressing up as a princess or a cowboy and building a fort…
Or sploshing paint all over the walls.
They find what they enjoy…
And if they don’t enjoy something, they try something else.
And you know what?
This seems to make them happy.
You could say that children are happy just “doing”…
Or you could say they’re happy just “being”.
And I think both are true.
They’re happy doing what they want by being themselves.
But here’s the thing…
Life as an adult can look very different.
For instance...
I know I can be in my own head too much…
I worry what other people think…
I modify my behaviour to fit in…
And I don’t always follow my instincts.
Sometimes these behaviours can be helpful.
But most of the time they’re not.
They stop me taking action and going after what I really want.
In other words…
I think I’ve lost touch with my childlike nature…
And I let fear control more of my life.
But if I spent less time being fearful…
And more time “doing” and “being”…
Then greater happiness would follow.
Just like the kid swimming without armbands for the first time…
Or riding a bike without stabilisers.
Children put their fears to one side and just DO…
(sometimes with encouragement from others)
Even when they are fearful.
And when they succeed, their joy is obvious.
“I did it!”
And when they don’t succeed, they try again.
I can’t help but think there’s something to learn from this.
So maybe something to think about.
With that
being said…
I’m gonna wrap this up.
Have a good day.
- Tom
p.s. this is the photo I mentioned. Check out those
chubby cheeks!
