Learning From Children

Our creativity is at the highest point in the early days of our lives. If we observe how children interact, behind all the innocence and childish behavior, there is an impulse for creating.

When they play, they create their own world, and fill it with things grasped from the inspiration of the moment. They are fearless at it, never restrained themselves or back down. Their fresh minds don’t accept those limitations adults normally self-impose.

It is an exploration, spanning throughout endless possibilities. At that stage life for them seems like an arid terrain, and thanks to their imagination they color it like a painter having his brush dancing on the blank canvas.

This is what we lose when we become adults. Most of the time - due to the “grow-up” phrase which is used as a euphemism for “stick to reality” - we overlook our initial power of imagination. And because of that we also lose the power of creation.

So, how can we recover part of what has been lost? Well, let’s approach some things how children do.

Never think that there is only one way

At the beginning when a child is willingly doing an activity, he/she will carry it out, leveraging on any means. Those children who give up commonly do not receive the correct support when they encounter a problem.

And when I say the correct support, I’m not talking about emotions or feelings. I’m talking about encouraging them to be persistent and determined. When a child is presented to something new, he feels curiosity and will try to explore it at first. That’s what adults need to learn. They should approach things without that “limited mindset” that always hold us back.

In the same way, the fear that is often confused as precautions shortens our perceptions. Children don’t have that. They venture on it more for the experience value than for the end-result.

Passion

When children take action on something, they do it for passion. This is the big different between them and adults. And it is the saddest truth of “growing up.”

I’ve implied before in other posts that growing up is about taking responsibility for the decisions we make. But that doesn’t mean that we all have to cut out everything that gives us joy.

Frequently, we have people telling us; put it in another way, trying to change us in order to adapt to the so called norms of society. And when we do it, we start doing things that depress us more each passing day.

Keep progressing

When children venture into something they like, they progress. As long as they continue, they begin coming up with new insights. Their imagination never stops. On the contrary, it pushes them to keep creating.

That’s what adults need to focus on as well. Usually, we get stuck in the routine. We see things and immediately think that we’re able to improve them. And that’s because most adults set for conformity.

It takes only a bit of courage to recover what we have lost. Children show us how. We just need to pay carefully attention.

@edave

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