Be Like a Child

Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

— Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

When you were a small child, you probably believed that anything was possible. The sky was the limit and you were fearless. Young children are open to everything and closed to nothing.

Listen to Your Childlike Voice

Have you stopped being curious? If you’re curious you’ll ask more questions and get more information. If you are in a meeting and aren’t clear about the direction the company is going in, or you still can’t see how the new proposal fits into the bigger picture, then become curious. Ask questions until you do understand.

A lot of childish attributes, such as jealousy and attention-seeking, can be eliminated immediately by using your childlike curiosity. Asking when, where, how, why, and by whom has the potential to clear up any feelings of exclusion and frustration that are common within relationships in and outside the workplace.

By drawing on childlike attributes such as curiosity you open yourself up to new ideas.

Learn to Silence Your Childish Voice

When you find yourself facing one of life’s curve balls, it’s easy to let yourself get caught up in a childish type of response. By asking yourself “Why me?” and saying “It’s not fair” you simply reinforce the problem, and will struggle to come up with a solution that will help you to move forward. You may even end up getting really stuck as the problem becomes bigger – it may sometimes grow so large that it will be almost impossible to overcome. Whenever you find yourself responding in a childish manner ask a childlike type of question instead – “What could be good about this?” This approach will immediately focus your mind on the positive aspects of the situation. Your mind sets to work to discover the positive aspects of the challenge facing you and goes straight to work on finding a solution. Your mind accepts that there is a solution to the problem and looks for the various options available to you and the action you can take.

Access Your Childlike Nature

High Impact

• Creativity

• Curiosity

• Enthusiasm

• Fearlessness

• Openness

• Optimism

• Sense of fun

Negative Impact

• Attention-seeking

• Desire to be king of the castle

• Jealousy

• Rivalry

• Stubbornness

• Sulking

• Tantrums