Adulting is hard. Combine that with parenting, and life can sometimes be a nightmare. Then I look at my little ones, and I realize they sometimes have a better handle on this whole getting-through-life thing. So, here’s some wise-beyond-years wisdom from a toddler:
1. Today is all there is.
When you’re five, you have no concept of what you did when you were three. You can’t possibly regret the actions you took when you were one, trying to somehow atone.
We must do what our toddlers do, pick up and move on, because yesterday is gone. It no longer exists. Today is all there is, and tomorrow is another shot to do it all again.
2. It’s okay to do things just because they’re fun.
Stop only doing things that are productive. We’re so obsessed with getting things done that we forget how much we enjoyed doing things just for the sake of doing them when we were little.
My toddler just participates in things, anything that seems fun at the moment. We can’t do that all the time, but we can certainly do more of that than we have been doing.
3. Live like you’re trying to embarrass yourself.
If you take a look at the kids on the playground, they don’t really seem to care what anybody thinks of them, they just have a good time.
Why do we hold back from doing things, like dance to the max, or speak up? We’re worried about embarrassment, and we don’t need to be.
4. The small things in life are the best things.
We don’t allow ourselves to get excited about day to day things anymore. Things like nice weather, the smell of fresh cut grass, or a glass of lemonade are just accepted as normal, everyday things.
Kids take any little pleasure and get totally jazzed, and it’s really worth it to take another look at that, to try to see our lives from a new perspective again.
5. How you feel is how you feel. Period.
My five-year-old doesn’t chastise himself for how he feels, trying to dissect his reactions, or wondering what’s wrong with him.
He doesn’t see the need to seek out therapy just for having a human reaction. We shouldn’t either. We spend too much time trying to be happy all the time, and we forget that it just isn’t natural.
Sometimes, you might have to be upset over spilled milk. And that’s okay.
6. There’s no such thing as too much love.
Kids don’t play withholding games with their love like adults do. They’re not hung up on being cool or nonchalant. They seem to understand that the more love you put out, the more love you’ll get back – something we tend to forget.
7. If it’s not totally exciting, don’t do it.
Of course, we have obligations that we need to fulfill, but some of us can forget that we can still use the word “no” from time to time. We can follow that little voice inside us that says, “not today.” We can take a day to just enjoy life, to follow our excitement – because that’s all kids are concerned about. That’s why they’re happier.
8. There is no use for worry.
To kids, either bad things happen or they don’t. They don’t spend all day anticipating them, they take life moment by moment. If something bad happens, they deal with it emotionally in whatever way feels natural and they move on. This is something to truly strive for.
9. Explore, explore, explore.
If you kept a child in the same room day after day, he or she would likely go insane by the end of the week. We, however, seem content with this. The purpose of life is discovery, to learn, to explore, to experience the new. To refrain from that is to stagnate.
10. Brag when you do something good.
When a child draws something, it doesn’t matter how good someone else thinks it is – they think it’s good, and they will show it to anyone who will look. We don’t do enough of that.
We spend most of the time afraid that what we’ve done isn’t good enough, and the rest of the time trying to downplay our achievements for fear of looking arrogant. It’s time to congratulate ourselves, and to be proud of our achievements, whether they’re celebrated by others or not.