In this day and age, it’s easy to become burdened by the busyness of life. We feel that we have to be more responsible and serious to do well in life, as we must think about the more serious things – a job, bills, and other’s perceptions of our life. We feel that becoming an adult, means embracing society’s mentality of “growing up.” Somewhere along our journey from our childhood years, to the years that deemed us as an adult, we lose some traits to conform to this mentality. These are traits that could be very valuable as an adult. We think that children need to learn from us, and our experiences, failing to realise how much we can learn from them. Their childlike nature is one of these things. As a child, all that seems to matter is having fun and enjoying life. There is no worry about to future, but only living in, and enjoying the present. Then our environment begins to alter, we go through experiences which begin to alter our perception and those childlike traits begin to drop away. Start considering your mentality. There are ways that you can embed these childlike traits back into your life and learn to love and enjoy your life like a child does.

Think about the way you used to get excited for Christmas. Even a birthday. Kids get excited over the simplest things; they are truly content with the little things. As adults, we begin to lose this joy and excitement, and struggle to fully immerse ourselves in the joy of the precious moments in life. So, get excited over the little things, over everything! Recognise that you can be fully content and happy with the things you are surrounded by, whether that be as simple as wearing a new dress to work or eating your favourite food for lunch.
Ever asked a child what they want to be when they’re older? They might reply with an astronaut, a firefighter, or maybe even a fairy godmother. Their responses are often unpredictable, and they like to dream big! But they are passionate, and they have full belief in their ability to achieve that goal. As an adult, we find it difficult to hold on to that belief. Factors around us cause self-doubt to arise, and we often settle for a goal that isn’t really what we want or desire. It is time to hold on to a childlike imagination, and to dream big. Chase the dram that you know will make you truly happy with a true belief in your ability to reach that goal.
Be curious! On average, children ask 300 question per day. For adults, it’s less than 120. Children have a sense of curiosity that seems to never be able to be quenched. They always desire to find out more about the world that they live in, to expand their scope and build their intelligence. They are not afraid to have a go at something, even if it leads to failure. They learn from it, and they try again. So why do we stop this curiosity as adults? We can never know too much, and there is always new, beneficial things to learn. Don’t be comfortable and satisfied with the knowledge you have now. Get out there and expand your own scope.
When children love, they love without conditions and they’re not afraid to tell you. No matter your mistakes and decisions that you have made in the past, their love does not waver, and they do not hold it against you. Experiences of life can impact our ability to be soft, we become harder and fear giving and expressing our love towards others. Learn to love those important people to you, like a child would. Allow yourself to be soft again.
Kids always seem to be laughing and smiling, even when it’s something so simple like going to he shops. Children laugh 300 times a day – we are lucky if we laugh 50 times as adults. Laughter releases a range of hormones in the body that switch off the stress hormones as such. They can make a game and something fun out when they have things as simple as a trolley and a plastic bag. They see jokes that adults barely flash a smile at, as the funniest things invented by all mankind. Smile and laugh more. They help us feel happy and start to give us a positive perspective on our lives. We feel that we as adults, we need to be perceived as responsible and serious. But we don’t need to just live our life, why not enjoy it too?

Step out of the adult mindset and embrace those childlike traits that made you enjoy life so much as a kid. It’s time to enjoy life and be a kid again.