USING CHILDLIKE WONDER AND AWE TO SEEK SOLUTIONS AND SOLVE PROBLEMS

Since the post last week, were you able to connect with your inner child? If so, did you feel more enthusiastic about things? Did you feel invigorated? Did you smile more? Did you seek solutions to issues with more creativity? If you did connect with your inner child, I hope you noticed a difference in how you approached things throughout the week.

This week, we continue our discussion on the inner child, but do so with a focus on childlike wonder. Childlike wonder is an attitude; it is a way of seeing the magic in simple things and finding the fun and joy in simple things. (Note, our inner child is the action side of this duo.) Childlike wonder allows us to:

+ have little or no fear of the unknown

+ venture out of our comfort zone

+be imaginative and creative

+have little or no fear of failure

+be a visionary

+take on challenges

+believe we can achieve whatever we conceive

+try new things

 

It is these qualities of childlike wonder that help us in times of change. Change can bring on an unknown. It can move us out of our comfort zone. We may be afraid to try a creative solution or try something new because we fear failure. Think how much easier it would be to deal with change and whatever it throws your way if you take a step back, take a deep breath, and look at what is facing you with “childlike wonder.” See something for the “first time.” Be fearless.   Think: so what if I make a mistake or fail. Think: what is the wildest thing I can think of to solve this issue or deal with this problem?

 

What we don’t know or can’t see in our changed environment often throws us for a loop. But, what if we allowed the part of our childlike wonder – the child’s ability to trust in what can’t be seen or what isn’t yet known – to take over and guide us in our approach to or in our decision making within the changed environment? This approach opens up endless possibilities for us. This approach allows us to be more creative, imaginative, innovative, divergent, or just plain different in how we deal with or solve whatever we’re facing in the changed environment. As Walt Streightiff says, “There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child. There are seven million.”

As a strategy to deal with change, using childlike wonder to seek solutions and solve problems is priceless. But, how do we go about recapturing or developing our childlike wonder?

1 Avoid placing conditions or limits on what we desire. Remain open at all times to receive the unexpected as well as what we think is coming. Start each day with an open mind about opportunities that may come your way. Be ready for the who, what, where, when, and why of each day. “Anticipate the day as if it was your birthday again and you are turning six again.” (Mike Dolan)

 

2 Don’t let facts get in the way of your imagination (Sam Levenson). Imagination is the ability of our minds to form pictures of something we have not seen or experienced or to think of new ways to use common things. It is the creative part of our minds. Our imagination allows us to look at things from a different point of view. With childlike wonder, our imagination reverts to a time when we might say, “So what if this doesn’t make sense; it works for the situation.” A perfect example of this technique is found in the story Harold and the Purple Crayon. Harold is a four-year old boy who uses his purple crayon to create a world of his own simply by drawing it. He wants to go for a walk in the moonlight, but there is no moon, so he draws one. He draws a path to walk on because none is there. Harold draws himself a landscape that is full of wonder and excitement; forget facts! This story is the perfect example of just how far you imagination can take you…if you forget the facts.

If change has rocked your world, get out your “purple crayon” and cover the world with imagination as Robert Fulghum says, “Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air – explode softly – and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth – boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn’t go cheap, either – not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.”

3. Remain open to awe and wonder. Young children seem to find awe and wonder in the simplest and smallest of things. Think back to how you felt on some important firsts that you can remember. That is what I’m talking about here. Go back to a time when you were impressed by things. Avoid being cynical. Look for the extraordinary in the ordinary. Look at everything as if you were seeing it for the first time. Quiet the mind and allow yourself to see and sense what is around you. (Working with young children helps keep this alive in me.)

4 Be silly. Pull out the coloring book and crayons and maybe even color outside the lines. Blow bubbles. Create with play doh. Run through a puddle. Do something that makes you smile and laugh.

Albert Einstein in a letter to a friend later in his life said, “People like you and me never grow old. We never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.”  Einstein never lost the intuition or awe of a child; he never lost his sense of wonder at things most adults find commonplace. We all need to be Einstein-like in our curiosity; with our sense of wonder and awe. Your challenge from me this week is to rediscover or reconnect with your inner child and to approach things with childlike wonder. See with the eyes of a child. Find wonder and awe, joy and happiness in the mundane, in everyday things. Don’t take anything for granted. If you can channel childlike wonder, you will find that you are more creative, imaginative, innovative, divergent, or just plain different in how you deal with or solve whatever you’re facing in the changed environment.

CONNECTING WITH YOUR INNER CHILD CAN HELP IN TIMES OF CHANGE

 

Enthusiasm was our topic last week, and I asked you to go for the gusto and approach everything enthusiastically! Did you do that? If so, did you notice any difference in how the week went for you? I hope so. I hope that you made the powerful energy of enthusiasm work for you!   Last week, I also shared with you that young children are my role models for the strategy of enthusiasm. Most children have an unbridled enthusiasm for all they do; they are naturally enthusiastic and happy about everything. This week, I want to focus on our inner child and how tapping into our inner child can be a useful strategy to help us stay sane and positive amid change.

What is our inner child? Our inner child is the part of us that takes us back to a time when: we were free spirits; our imaginations would run wild; we were creative beyond reason; our days were filled with laugher, fun, joy, and play; we were wildly happy about anything and everything; when cardboard boxes became houses, cars, airplanes or caves; curiosity drove a lot of what we did; we weren’t afraid to take a risk or make a mistake; we bounced back from any type of daily disruption; we lived in the moment.

This strategy of inner child relates to approaching situations and dealing with change as young children do – with resilience, joy, happiness, creativity, and enthusiasm. Again, think about what change does to us, especially a change we would label as major or seismic. We begin to question ourselves. Sometimes our confidence erodes. Our comfort zone shifts or disappears. Fear, anger, doubt, frustration – any number of emotions and feelings – may overcome us. The enthusiastic, happy, creative nature of our inner child can be a huge help in overcoming any paralyzing effects of change. In general, as we age we tend to lose some of our natural enthusiasm and happiness about things. This strategy reminds us that it is important to maintain (or recapture if lost) this inner child view of things.

Picasso said, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”  Children are naturally enthusiastic and naturally happy; they are learning. Once we stop learning, we tend to become less enthusiastic about things/life. Or, once boundaries are placed on learning (like right/wrong/grades), we become less enthusiastic about learning and more concerned about getting it right or making the grade (hence the “artist” in each of us is “dashed”).

We sometimes need to look beyond the right/wrong answers or the grade. Look for opportunities to say, ‘Count me in,’ and ‘Hey, I’ll play!’  Look for a chance to make a fool of yourself.  Don’t be afraid to lose face and fail at something.  Don’t reject the idea of coming across as a human being.  Jump in.  Play.  Fall down.  Get up.  Play harder.  Come home sweaty and dirty.   Take a bath.  And sleep.

Don’t let age hamper your happiness. The world is as exciting today as it was when we were children. The trouble lies in the fact that we tend to lose “children’s eyes” and because of it, our enthusiasm for life. Connecting with our inner child is about finding that joy and the fun in the simple things. How do we do this? How do we connect with or release our inner child?

1 OBSERVE CHILDREN. Watch how children play and interact. What questions do they ask? How do they process information? If they are given a make believe box, what do they do with the items in it? If given boxes and sheets, what do they create?

2 ADOPT A CHILD’S SENSE OF CUROSITY AND DISCOVERY. Ask what if, why, and why not questions. Seek to learn want to know more about things. Look at things as a child would; explore things with a “beginner’s” mind. Create with Legos and Tinker Toys.

3 FIND YOUR FUN ZONE. What is it that makes you lighten up or laugh? If your children are young, engage in their fun time. If you have grandchildren, play with them. Be imaginative with them – be a pirate or a knight or a surfer or an animal – using things around the house (not store bought stuff). Blow bubbles. Play with play doh. Draw something with sidewalk chalk. Laugh out loud. Watch a funny movie. Seek thrills at an amusement park. Redefine the role of fun/play in your life. Set up “play time” for yourself.

4 “COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES.” Don’t let expectations constrain you. Dare to be like a child and go outside the lines. Walk on the wild side. (Create your own reality like Harold did in the children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon.) Let your imagination run wild and free.

5 TRY LIVING IN THE MOMENT. Be present now. Let the past go for a moment and don’t think about the future for a moment. Get into what is happening here and now.

6 GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO MAKE MISTAKES. Young children don’t fear making a mistake. When they do, they learn from it. The figure out what they did wrong and work to right it.

7 ENJOY AND RELISH THE SMALL THINGS IN LIFE. Talk a walk and take in the sights and sounds around you. Watch the clouds. Moon gaze. Star gaze. Watch the sunrise. Watch the sunset.

8 GIVE YOURSELF A CHILD’S PARTY. Invite your friends to an “inner child” party. Play children’s games (musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey, etc.)

Our inner child exudes unbridled joy, boundless energy, a free-spirited nature, a wild imagination, creativity, happiness, enthusiasm, resilience, stamina, laughter, fun, curiosity, a sense of wonder. Aren’t these characteristics that we want working for us as we deal with change? Leo F. Buscaglia wrote, “I am often accused of being childish.  I prefer to interpret that as child-like.  I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things.  I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and embellish.  I still listen to instinctual urges.  I play with leaves.  I skip down the street and run against the wind.  I never water my garden without soaking myself.  It has been after such times of joy that I have achieved my greatest creativity and produced my best work.” Buscaglia’s advice is perfect to help us deal with the changes in our life. Perhaps we can achieve our greatest creativity and produce our finest work (as we deal with change) after releasing our inner child. Tag, you’re it!