What Kids Know

Kids are great reminders of what it means to be free. Kids don’t have to try to impress anyone, they just feel what they feel and are completely honest about their feelings. Kids love to play and are naturally creative. Perhaps it’s because the world is so new to them and everything is exciting. Somewhere along the way, we get caught up in the everyday obligations of what we must do and we begin to slowly “grow up.”

Kids don’t worry about the same things adults do. Their minds are built upon exploring, developing, and having fun. Of course, as adults, we do need to gain responsibility for our actions, be providing, and care for ourselves and families. However, it’s quite easy for us to mistakenly believe that we need to repress creativity, instincts, and passions because they may not be lined up with our preconceived notions of what it means to be an adult.

One of the worst things you can tell yourself is that you need to be stressed in order to be responsible, and that you need to work long hours in order to be productive. Neither stress nor long hours are helpful but tend to backfire in the face of those with well-meaning intentions to get ahead.

You don’t need to be a kid in order to be creative and in touch with your creativity. We grow up for a reason and further develop a capacity for doing great and new things. However, a mindful breakdown of what it means to be sophisticated, responsible, or worthwhile needs to be evaluated. We have the ability to be responsible and creative; they aren’t opposites on a spectrum.

You don’t need to be the smartest, most creative, most “valuable” person in order to make life work properly. The world does, however, need you. You, exactly as you were made, are exactly what the world needs.

The key is to not allow yourself to become jaded along the way. The world has enough jerks in it. It’s only because they allow themselves to succumb to negativity. Negativity and frustration are easily overcome through knowledge, development, and applied understanding. It takes no effort to be rude or cynical. However, it takes time, discipline, and work in order to be a forgiving person.

Learn to allow life to be an adventure. Forgive others, and explore. We often have the hardest time giving ourselves a break because we’re usually either self-conscious about how we look to others or think that we’re being irresponsible. Life is meant to be a joy. No amounts of money or work-hours are going to matter when all is said and done. Grow and learn yourself. Contribute your creativity to the world.

For further related reading, please check out: This Extraordinary Ordinary Life.