I remember when I was growing up, everything around me was a fascinating puzzle. The most important word in my vocabulary was WHY.
We have all been around children who drive you absolutely crazy asking
questions, or playing the “why” game. Granted sometimes kids ask why
1000 times just to annoy you because they think it is funny, but more
often than not, children just want to know more about everything.
How many adults do you know that ask that many questions? How many questions do you ask as you go through your day?
The reason children are always asking questions is because they have
an insatiable curiosity and thirst for understanding and knowledge. As
we grow older, this is something that regrettably, slowly begins to fade
away.
We grow up and start thinking that we know enough, and we lose
interest in things that we don’t understand.
Sometimes we get so set in
our ways we even attack new or different ideas!
We lose the children’s perspective and gain the adults cynicism.
There are a few things about kids that we could greatly benefit from learning again:
1. Kids are curious.
Because they are so curious, kids constantly ask questions. Adults don’t.
The problem with losing our curiosity is that we stop asking questions.
When we stop asking questions, we stop learning.
And When we stop learning, we stop growing!
Human beings need to grow to be happy and to find a sense of fulfillment. Our new “adult” perspective prevents us from growing.
2. Kids are open to new ideas.
Often as adults we close our minds to new ideas, because we think we
know what is right. Because we have more experience we think we know
what is best before we really give new ideas any real thought. We
discredit new ideas or ignore them instead of giving them a try.
The problem with this is in order to maintain a happy life, we need
to be open to new ideas. Children are always open to new ideas, and are
curious about new things, while many adults are uninterested about new
concepts at best, or hostile towards them at worst. We miss an abundance
of learning and new growth on a personal and professional level when we
go through life with a closed mind.
3. Kids don’t judge.
Children have no concept of what is “different”, and do not judge. It
is just something new to them, neither good or bad. Adults very often
have established what is acceptable or normal, and want nothing to do
with things that are “different”. They judge things at face value, and
can be impossible to convince otherwise.
The concept of racism is a perfect example of this principle in
action. Racism is a learned trait in children, to them a person of
another race is just another person, neither good or bad, before they
are conditioned to believe otherwise. Judging others before really
getting to know them can be harmful on every level. Personally and
professionally it can cause a large amount of conflict and pain to
others and yourself.
So what are we supposed to do? Act like kids?
Not exactly.
By no means am I advising that we all resort to childlike mental
states for the rest of our lives! Having a grown-up rational mind is
essential to living a successful happy life, and it’s important that
children eventually grow up too.
What I am suggesting is that maybe some of us let ourselves get a
little bit too grown up. Maybe it is time for us to revisit some of our
views from childhood to teach us old things we used to know, but have
forgotten.
To get back in touch with your inner child there are 3 things you need to do.
1.) Start having new experiences.
Step outside of your comfort zone, at least once in a while. Do new
things, meet new people! Try some exotic foods, or listen to some music
you wouldn’t normally put on. The important part is to experience new
things to teach your mind that new isn’t always bad! New experiences
will promote personal growth, which will bring you an abundance of
happiness. Just have the courage to do something different.
2. Get curious again!
Find a hobby or part of your life that you can get deeply involved
in. It’s important to find something that you are passionate about. When
we are passionate about doing something, we can never learn enough
about it.
Reigniting your curiosity can make everything in your life
interesting again! Getting involved in hobbies and interests will get
you into the habit of keeping an open mind and leaning something
everyday. It will also help you to do the next step.
3. Ask more questions.
When you find a subject or interest that you don’t know much about,
or want to know more about, ask someone! Your hobby and new interests
should give you plenty of questions! Successful people ask more
questions. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed, someone would love to explain
to you if you will just ask! When someone is passionate about
something, asking them questions about it can be a great way to learn
more and it will enable you to build a relationship with that person. If
nothing else, just ask questions to yourself, and look up the answers!
Just get back into the habit of asking questions, they are so important
to keep growing as a person.
Use these three steps to rediscover the wisdom of kids that you have
forgotten. Learning to wake up your inner child again is not only fun,
but it is a fail-proof way to bring more happiness and fulfillment to
your life.
It will also increase the quality of your interpersonal relationships because you will become more open and fun to be around. You are never too old to learn to act like a kid again, so start today!
What are some of the ways that you keep yourself young at heart?
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