Lighten Up - Be "Childish"
Kids are awesome – for many reasons. Not only that, they can teach us adults a lot. For example, one of the great things about kids is their “attitude” – their playful, happy, optimistic attitude. Also, children laugh an average of 300 times every day, and anything is possible in their world. Adults barely make it to 20 laughs a day and become very skeptical – even pessimistic – about what’s possible in life.
Yes, after years of “training”, we learn to think differently than kids.
Much of that is good, since as “responsible adults”, we can’t go
around playing all day (or can we?). We become accountable for things –
and “worrying” about them (see “Don’t Worry” below). Life certainly
gets tougher and more “serious” as we get older.
One of the issues we can control, however, is thinking more like a child. Here’s what I mean…
Take a look at the picture to the right. If you are “an adult”, what do
you see? Most adults see a man and a woman (perhaps nude) in a sensual embrace.
That’s fine - that's what we (as adults) have "learned" to see.
What do most kids see, though? They see dolphins. If you are an adult, can
you see the dolphins? This whole picture is really made up of 9
dolphins - and not much more. Can you see them? If not, don’t feel
alone. Believe it or not, when I show this picture up on a big screen
to audiences of all ages, many adults can never see the dolphins at all –
even when I circle them and point them out. They are totally caught up
in “adult thinking” and can’t even “think like a child anymore”. Many
people take several minutes to see the dolphins – but can finally see
them. A small percentage of adults see the dolphins right away.
The point of this metaphor is that children are not “blinded” by the
what we become trained to focus on as we become adults. Children see
simplicity and, to some degree, reality.
That’s what we need to do as adults. We need to “take a step back” and
look at things more simply, and perhaps, even naively. One way to
start doing this is to…
Laugh and Play More
Children laugh a lot – and are almost always ready to play. What happens,
for example, when a child comes up to a puddle in the middle of the
sidewalk? Of course, they jump in it. They love it. They play and
frolic – and don’t care at all about getting wet or dirty. All the while, their
parents are telling them to stop playing and getting all “messy” (part
of the “training”).
What does an adult do? Adults generally don’t want to get wet, have no
interest in playing, and simply walk around it – missing the opportunity
to be “child-like” (part of the result of all that “training”).
Then, to take this a step further, what does an “old person” do when
they come up to a puddle in the sidewalk? [And, by the way, “old
person” here has nothing to do with age. “Old” is a state of mind.
There are many “young” 80 year-olds and many “old” 30 year-olds]. So,
what does an “old thinking” person do when they come up to the puddle in
the sidewalk? Well, many of them not only walk around it, they
complain about it because of the inconvenience it is causing. That’s what I call “old
thinking” (in other words – the opposite of child-like thinking).
So, force yourself to be more playful. Be more adventurous. Laugh
more. You’ll feel a lot better, and start worrying a lot less. One way
to be able to do this is to…
Live in the Moment
Kids – especially very young kids – live mostly in the moment rather
than in the past or the future. Unfortunately, at a very early age we
start to get trained to not live in the moment. By age 7 or 8, we are
already thinking about the future – and starting to worry about upcoming
events or dreading certain tasks. Some kids even start thinking about
the past. This is especially true as we get into our teens. So many
teens these days are depressed – and even suicidal. Part of this is
because they feel hopeless (mostly about the future) and sad – sometimes
because of the bad experiences in their past.
It’s not easy to live in the moment. As we have said, life is
stressful. Bad things do happen. We all have certain regrets about our
past. There is a lot of pain and suffering in the world and there are
all kinds of things to “worry about”.
Even with all this, though, we can re-learn how to live in the moment.
One way to achieve this is …
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Life is stressful – there’s no doubt about it. There are so many
pressures on us these days, it’s sometimes hard to live in the moment.
But really, stress is a choice. I’m sure you know people who are “laid
back” and appear somewhat “care-free”. Sure, some of these people may
not be under a lot of stress, but for anyone who is “out there”,
striving to be successful, taking risks, perhaps with a goal of
financial freedom, stress comes with the territory. Even many of these
people don’t “fret” about things and can be very calm and composed. Being a bit child-like can help you be that way, too.
Living in the moment, laughing and being more playful, and just not taking everything so seriously (like a child) can help. Check out the movie on the right (“Stress is a Choice”) by clicking on the picture. Also, you can click here to learn more about balancing your life and managing stress or click on the "clicking here" link in the box to the left to download a copy of the ebook, Stop Stressing Now, by my good friend, Steven Diamond. And above all just…
Don’t Worry
I know. This is another of those “easier said than done” issues. Some
people just tend to worry a lot. This is different from “sweating the
small stuff”. As described above, sweating the small stuff (or even the
not-so-small stuff) is mostly about managing stress.
Stress is real – and we are all subjected to it. There are finanial
pressures, there are relationship problems, and there are health issues.
Managing the stress assoicated with these real life situations is one
thing.
Worry, however, is different. It's just an emotion. And most worry is
“stressing” about things that likely never will happen. It is a waste
of time and energy. One of my favorite quotes is by Leo Buscaglia. He
says, “worry never robs tomorrow of it’s sorrow, it just saps the joy out of today”.
So true! Worry doesn’t change anything in the future. It just make the
present miserable. So, don’t worry. Like I said earlier, I know,
that’s easier said than done for many people. It takes commitment and
practice. Like most other things, it has to become a habit. Click here
to learn more about how to stop worrying.
The Bottom Line
The point to all this is that, if you want to be happier, learn to "lighten up" a bit. Rediscover that little kid inside of you that use to laugh more, be more playful, and thought anything was possible (because it is).
In other words, be "childish", and ...
BeHappy! My friends
Don’t See The Dolphins Yet?
All 9 dolphins are circled in the picture here. Do you see them now? Go back up to the picture without the circles and “step back” a bit. Just look at the dark areas. Just see the dolphins? Once you get to the point of being able to see the dolphins, now try to make yourself not able to even see the couple anymore. Once you get to that point, you can start to think more like a child – and be happier!
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I'm Jimmy, the founder and creator of this site and the whole BeHappy! system. My life's purpose is to be a positive, creative force for health and happiness and through this website, my books, coaching, and happiness-building programs, I intend to help as many people as possible live their happiest possible lives.