Whenever I talk to my kids, I can always see the great disparity that we, adults, have compared to them. Kids have a knack for dreaming, and their imaginations run wild due to their boundless and unhindered minds. They can turn a piece of paper into anything that they want, be it a sword, a boat, or a cape. They can dream outrageously, and still look forward to achieving it. Unlike most adults today that are already resigned with their lives – unable to give themselves a chance on reliving their wildest dreams.
Being a father of three boys ages seven, four and one, I have observed some of their mentalities that really stood out for me, and I believe, we can re-learn and re-apply as adults to make our lives more meaningful. Read all five, and be amazed.
Dreaming
Children in general are not bounded by the realities of the world. They dream endlessly while sleeping, but more so while they are wide awake. And it is so much fun to see kids try to live their fantasies and remind us what dreaming really is – limitless.
What were your dreams as a child? Did you dream about getting rich? Did you aspire to become a celebrity? The sad truth is that no matter how high our dreams are when we were young, those dreams are recalibrated within our financial capacity as we grow older. We can only dream as much as how high our income is, which for most of us, is just enough. Add this to the fact that we tend to prioritize providing for our families rather than fulfilling our passion.
Kids don’t just dream effortlessly; they also believe that it would really come true. Try it too on your goals.
Excitement Level
It is always automatic to see genuine excitement on kids. They brim with energy whenever and wherever it may be. You can observe this more on occasions like Christmas or their birthdays, where they expect to get some gifts. You can even see it while they are playing or in other simple things like when they get to eat their favorite dish or dessert.
What are you excited about today? Or, has it been a long while since you have felt that excited? Have you been too busy with your work that it already zapped any excitement in your life? Do you want to know how you can get it back?
The answer lies in knowing, or in this case, remembering what excites you. What are the things that motivate you, or inspire you? If you are into sales, maybe the reason of your low productivity is you not having enough excitement that your clients can feel. Your excitement should be through the roof, especially on your goals.
Persistence
Kids have an instinct on how to get something – they don’t give up. You can never discourage a child hell-bent on getting a toy in the mall, even if you say there’s a monster or a ghost in there. They will never take no for an answer. You should be too with your goals. If you fail, try again.
The problem with people quitting on their goals is that they raised the white flag an inch before the moment that they should have succeeded. Be relentless in eyeing and working on your goals, despite all the discouragements.
Trust
Kids trust people earnestly. They actually have no filter from being a baby to around seven years old. That’s why parents often say that can be stolen and brought anywhere because of this.
As an adult, being like a kid who trusts anyone easily is good too. You will have lesser stress in your life. You will not be paranoid about people double-crossing you. You will not be a lonely island that shuns people, even with good intentions, away.
Having fun (in what we do)
Kids, in whatever they do, are always happy and enjoying. Even in situations that they are being reprimanded, they find a way to make it to a fun spectacle.
If you want to venture into business, but you are currently occupied with your day job, start by being happy with what you are currently doing first. It is like training your mind and body to enjoy even the unpleasant and monotonous things. Until such time that you are genuinely happy, and can consider your work as not work as all because you’re having fun.
These things impacted me a lot, and to my amazement putting the first letters of the list above, will result to a word – DEPTH. When you think of kids, you might think about their innocence and shallowness, not anything connected with depth and profundity. But, having observed these things first hand, I have come to realize that if we are able to apply them, it can really alter our lives, no matter how trivial-sounding these might have been.
If you could travel back in time, what would you say to your eight-year-old-self? If you’re eight-year-old self traveled through time and asked you today about your dreams, what would you answer? Try to observe kids and see for yourself. In life, in dreaming, and in accomplishing goals, it is not always the experienced, or learned, that can shed light to a better world. Like this one, who would have thought that these simple things that kids do, can provide a wide scope of learning that when applied can drastically change our lives for the better?
All we need to do is just channel that kid in us. How can that be so hard, right?