Children view life and the world as utopian perfection, were all problems can and should be easily solved.
This concept of perfection is gradually degraded as we age and for good reason – life isn’t perfect. But this aim of perfection holds not only beauty in its innocence but a positive outlook and a sense of wonder that is not restricted by dogma or simply what has been before.
This open-minded approach to life is something that would benefit adults in many aspects of life. We will discuss this and other lessons that we can learn from children.
Dream Big
When you are young your dreams for the future are unlimited. You wanted to be an astronaut, the president, or a superhero. While in reality, only few will realize extraordinary dreams such as these, nothing out of the ordinary comes of dreaming small.
If you limit your dreams then fulfilling them is likely to leave you underwhelmed and unhappy with your life, step out of your comfort zone and set your sights higher, even if you don’t attain your ultimate goal you will be more satisfied and probably get further than you ever thought you could.
Plan for Creativity
Creativity is an intrinsic part of being a child. It is seen in art and play as well as other aspects of childhood. Despite this, as we mature we lose much of this creativity, art, by the majority is completely abandoned and play is minimized and somewhat frowned upon in an adult world. Instead, we are obsessed with ‘getting-things-done’ and planning.
Unfortunately, excessive planning suppresses creativity. Not only this, life is full of an impossible amount of variables that throw plans out of the window, this generates an enormous amount of stress on people who fret that things aren’t going as they should be. So once in a while plan to not plan, or at least relax your plans and remember, planning is good but doing is better.
Be Fearless
Ok so ‘Be Fearless’ is a bit of a throwaway statement and in reality, reducing or losing one’s fears is one of life’s greatest challenges. But there is still value in reflecting in the fearlessness that we are all born with. They say that we are only born with 2 natural fears, fear of falling and fear of loud noises – understandably these are innately designed to keep us stay safe from a young age.
But this means that all other fears are acquired throughout life. So do your best to break free of your fears and reach your full potential. If fear is seriously holding your life back then seek expert help, professionals such as psychologists and therapists can help people to overcome most fears and phobias.
Like a child wouldn’t do – don’t keep your fears to yourself, simply talking about them with a friend can help to alleviate your concerns and shift your thinking.
Play
If there is one thing children are good at its play. We are increasingly beginning to understand the value of play, it helps children to learn, develop, grow and work out who they are in the world. Play has been shown to improve self-confidence as well as social skills. So as we mature it is important to recognize that play still plays a role in maintaining and shaping who we are.
How we ‘play’ isn’t important but it is important to take time out and do something that is fun, makes us happy and teaches us new things about ourselves and others that only play can help us to realize.
Live in the moment
When you were young do you remember worrying about a future event? Most people will answer no to this question because children generally live in the moment and do not overly worry about something in the future that in reality, we have little control over or in fact is not worth worrying about at all.
Again this is easier said than done if we didn’t have any concern for future events our lives would be chaos, but the simple lesson here is that future events are made up of your perception of how they will be – they are generally never as bad as you think they will be.
For a practical guide to living in the moment and reducing worry check out mindfulness meditation which teaches us to live in and appreciate the present moment.
“You must lend an ear today, because we are the leaders of tomorrow”
– Adora Svitak
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