"Don't worry. Be happy." -- Bobby McFerrin
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"Don't worry. Be happy." -- Bobby McFerrin |
         
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Alive & Well ArchivesSeptember 2002**************************************************** TODAY'S
QUOTE: "Bring back the magic, don’t make life so tragic" **************************************************** TODAY'S TOPIC: Your Inner Child Last
week, I went out to dinner and saw a little boy dressed in a batman outfit.
My first thought was, “He must be excited because Halloween is almost
here.” Then I remembered
Halloween was still over a month away, yet this boy proudly walked by with his
batman outfit. He didn’t care
that he looked kind of silly. He
didn’t care if his outfit was appropriate.
He was being a kid! Do
you remember those days -- those
days when you dressed funny, had no worries and played first? There’s
something magical about children. Whereas
many adults have become hardened by the world, children stay innocent.
They have perspective and curiosity that many adults have lost.
For example, have you ever taken a walk with a child?
I clearly remember hiking with my nephew when he was younger.
He would drive me crazy, because I wanted to get good exercise.
He, on the other hand, wanted to observe the flowers.
Even more, he was fascinated by the bugs and would frequently stop to
watch them. I had an agenda -- to
get good exercise -- while he just relaxed and moseyed along.
Who do you think enjoyed the hike more?
Who do you think had the more magical experience? Kids
are also more resilient. They are
interested in *now* and not the past or whether they’ll achieve their goals in
the future. After September 11,
while many adults were still upset, kids were back laughing and having fun.
Kids live in the moment and bounce back easily.
That’s beautiful!
I
know most of us can’t live like children anymore.
We have adult responsibilities; we must pay the bills, take care of our
health, work, raise kids and maintain our relationships.
We can’t always play first and mosey along at our own pace.
Most of us would be too embarrassed to go to dinner in a batman outfit.
But we can be like kids sometimes! I
was talking with a client today, and we talked about re-connecting with the
inner child. She said, “Oh, I’m
definitely connected to my inner child. I
let her come out and play a lot.” As
she said this, I could hear her voice change.
It became lighter and playful. She
seemed happier. This reminded me,
again, of how fun it can be to let your inner child come out and play.
It reminded me of how important it is to just be happy and have no
worries sometimes. When
was the last time you acted like a kid? I
periodically make a conscious effort to be a kid.
My birthday was at the end of July.
To celebrate, I went out to dinner with my friends and my mom.
My mom surprised me by bringing paper cups and napkins to the restaurant.
The cups and napkins had Barbie on them!
When I was a little girl, I loved Barbie!
I would sit in the basement all day and play Barbie.
So there we were, four grown adults, sitting in the restaurant using
these Barbie napkins and cups. It
wasn’t a really fancy restaurant, but our set-up was noticeable.
I didn’t care though. I
re-connected with my inner child, and I was thrilled!
It was the best thing for me. You
see, my heart had been heavy, because my cat had less than a week to live.
But for a couple of hours, I was a kid again with no worries!
It was truly thrilling!
Let
me give you another example of how I’ve recently re-connected with my inner
child and allowed myself to be innocent. A
couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend and I went to an alpine slide, which is
basically a gigantic slide carved into the mountain.
When I was a little girl, I loved to go on the alpine slide.
I hadn’t gone since I was little, but it was just as thrilling this
time. I raced down the slide and
secretly hoped I’d beat my boyfriend. I
had a huge smile plastered on my face as I raced down, and I couldn’t wait to
get up the mountain so I could go down again.
During this time, I had no worries or responsibilities.
Nothing was weighing me down. The
only thing I cared about was getting down fast and beating my boyfriend.
I was being a kid!
So
how about it? Will you re-connect
with your inner child for a day? Will
you give yourself at least a few hours to be carefree?
Will you allow yourself time to just have fun? Let
me give you some suggestions: *
Color in coloring books. When I was
a little girl, I loved to color in coloring books.
Now I occasionally color in coloring books, and my favorite one (yes I
have many) is my Barbie coloring book. Another
option is to ask for a kids’ menu and crayons at a restaurant, and color in
the menu. *
Go to an amusement park. *
Ride go-carts. *
Play laser tag. *
Make snow angels in the snow. Adults
usually don’t do that, but kids do. *
Build a sandcastle. Do you ever see
adults sitting in the sand building castles?
Rarely. But you see kids all
the time. *
Ride your bike or get on a skateboard. *
Carve a pumpkin this Halloween. Better
yet, dress in a batman costume! *
Take a bath and play with toys while you’re in there (I also recommend
relaxing in the bath). If you
really want to be a kid, run around naked after your bath. *
Wake up on Saturday morning and just watch cartoons for a few hours. *
Giggle for no reason or make funny faces in the mirror. *
Go to an arcade. We have some in
Denver with the same games I played as a little girl.
I am still excited and amused when I play them now! *
Go to a toy store and play with the toys. You
can even buy one if you want. The
best advice I can give you is to think about what you loved when you were a kid.
What made you giggle? What
did you spend hours doing? What
brought you joy and happiness? Now,
go out and do those things! Give
yourself the gift of being innocent for the day.
Allow yourself to have a light heart for even a couple of hours. ***************************************************** Coaching Challenge ***************************************************** Think
about what you loved as a kid or pick something from the list above.
Go do at least one of those things.
Then re-connect with your child at least once a month.
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