children

The best thing about being around kids is they can always teach us something. The innocence held by every child is remarkable. They have an innate ability to teach us profound lessons we seem to lose sight of as we grow older.

Here are 3 lessons we can learn from children:

1. Never lose your sense of wonder. – Without a sense of wonder and awe, would we have ever sent men to walk on the moon? Would we have submarines to explore aquatic wildlife? Would we have airplanes? Probably not. Children possess an innate ability to be awed by things like flight and the stars. These are things that we think of less and less as we get older. Our concerns are more about paying the bills and less about doing the incredible. Get out into a field after the sun goes down, lay flat on your back and just stare into the night sky. Let it capture you and instill an awe in you that you are so tiny in such an enormous universe.
2. Don’t waste your time judging people, just love them. – When was the last time you were introduced to someone and thought to yourself, “How can I best show this person that they matter and that they are valued by others?” Most of the time we are consumed by agendas. We want to accomplish big things or we are introduced to others because they want something from us. Unfortunately, altruistic introductions are all but extinct in the adult world. Kids just love each other. They don’t make snap judgments. They aren’t racist or sexist, they don’t care that someone is from a different religion or country, and they (usually) aren’t trying to use people. The innocence of children is beautiful because they are so good at being honest and just loving others. We all could use a little more of this in our lives.
3. Let your imagination run free. – Perhaps the best thing children do and the worst thing adults do is imagine. Spend any amount of time with a child and you will soon see how deficient your imagination is to theirs. The best way to improve that? Exercise your imagination regularly. If Steve Jobs hadn’t exercised his imagination, I am convinced that Apple would not be the company it is today. Maybe this is what’s holding you back from that huge breakthrough. So read a book, watch a movie, or go outside and have a stick sword fight with your kids. Just do something to get the dusty, old imagination of yours moving again.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. We have so much we can learn from children, but often we just brush them aside without taking the time and effort to really pay attention to them. I’m guilty and I know some of you are, too.

This week I challenge you to pay attention to any children you come into contact with and see if there isn’t a lesson to learn from interacting with or observing them. Then come back and leave a comment!