You’re grown up. You’re reasonable. Your decisions are thoughtful and deliberate. You have a to-do list with all the practical things to arrange… and often YOU are the only item left out from that list.

Sad but true!

The thing is though – you cannot run the show with only your adult part being in charge. Where is joy and happiness? Two emotions we tend to neglect in our thoughtful parent role.

Have you seen kids playing? That worry-free joy and immersion in their activity, whatever they do? They have experienced so few parental bans that they are totally free to express themselves… something we abandon years later after learning and incorporating all those “shoulds and shouldn’ts”.

Wouldn’t it be great to be sometimes that worry-free kid?

Here are 4 things your spontaneous child self teaches you:

#1. Reconnect to your emotions

Kids are masters of spontaneity. They just instinctively know what they want… and do exactly that!

Doing home work? No way! It’s play time on agenda.

Dinner time? Absolutely not! It’s reading that they want.

With the adult life obligations all these kids will grow up to live a life of ‘shoulds’. They put school, job, family, friends in the foreground and in this they forget what they really want.

So it’s time to reconnect with your emotions!

Just stop whatever you’re doing and ask yourself these two questions:

1. How am I feeling now?
2. What do I really want now, in this very moment?

You can also do a short meditation around this, just a few minutes to cancel noise around (and inside) you. And as soon as you do it, your emotions and ‘wants’ will find their way to the surface…

#2. Do silly things

Don’t sit down on the ground! Take care of your clothes! Stop fidgeting! Behave!

… Who hasn’t heard at least one of these phrases as a child?

As a consequence we learn… not to sit down on the ground… to take care of our clothes… not to fidget… and to behave properly.

But what if you just lose this adult control for a sec and you do exactly the opposite?

Things that the naughty child in you would do, just to contradict their parents. 😉

So think about all those ‘silly’ things your child self would want to do – popping bubble wraps, laying down in the grass (or snow), gathering wild flowers, dancing on an imaginary stage… you name it!

#3. Express your creativity

Kids are creative by nature.

Have you observed how they can immerse in creation sometimes for hours?

As an adult, we de-learn using our creativity to give room for more ‘practical’ things in life – work, household etc.

But creativity is within you! And there are tons of reasons to use it:

According to research, creating and expressing ourselves gives us a sense of purpose.

Besides, it helps lower stress level and improves well-being.

So start expressing yourself.

Don’t worry! Noone expects you to be an artist. 🙂

Decide what type of art or creation is closest to you.

Or simply try out new things. Buy an adult coloring book. Go to a painting workshop. Visit a writer’s club. You choose…

#4. Do your child-self’s dream job

Have you noticed how most kids are so absolutely certain what they want to be when they grow up?

In my class for example, every boy wanted to be a policeman, fireman or train conductor. Some of my girl friends dreamed of becoming hairdresser or doctor. And I wanted to be a teacher.

At 9 I taught German to my friends (a language that I just started learning myself the day before!). At 14 I taught Maths to the kids in my street, who were in average 5 years younger than me. And starting 16, I gave private classes to kids and adults.

… A passion that at that time was labeled as childish was soon pushed to background by more ‘practical’ career choices.

Fast forward to now, I’m self-employed and guess what I’m doing. You’re right, teaching! Coaching, consulting and creating workshops (face-to-face and online). I’m building on my strengths in my everyday work, although the 9-year-old me would be probably be surprised about the format of teaching I use today (since all those online stuff didn’t exist when I was a child).

So now it’s your turn:

And most importantly – how can you incorporate it from now on into your career choice?

Ready, steady, go! 🙂

P.S. That girl friend of mine by the way, who wanted to be a doctor is a consultant now. Having a dream job as a child doesn’t mean you have to follow it to the letter! Look at the main skill and see how you can bring more of that in your life. Just as my friend uses now her analytical and problem solving skills in consulting… instead of medicine.

What else did you learn from your child self? Share with us your ideas and how these experiments went for you. Don’t be shy! Leave us a comment below. 🙂