May 19, 2010 | Posted in: Leading Hartfully, Living Hartfully

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Upon  attending an outdoor concert the other night watching the toddlers dance and play and make new friends very quickly; I’m reminded to be more child-like (not childish) in order to keep up my energy.

Childish is whiney, self-centered, me, me, me. Child-like is inclusive, joyful, open, free and possibility thinking.

This was not a Wiggles concert, it was an 80?s party dance band that got everybody rockin’ from 2 year-old’s to 72 year-olds and the energy was amazing. Here are some observations on being more child-like:

1.   Free-flowing self-expression. What are you doing to express your creativity, your emotions, your message, and your authentic self to the world? One boy just kept running across the dance floor with his arms spread out yelling, just yelling and venting and letting it out. Try some sound therapy – vocalize a long A sound loudly for as long as you can in a deep breath – it helps get the energy moving through your body.

2.   If you fall down, get back up quickly and keep moving forward. Another boy just kept running in circles at top speed. He’d fall, look around, smile and get up to keep running. This went on for 1.5 hours. He never stopped smiling and running, even if he ran into people or tripped and fell. He just kept going. Ski racers and other athletes know the race could go to the one who gets up the fastest after falling.

3.   Laughter keeps you healthy and vital. As a Certified Laughter Leader, I’ve written on the benefits of laughter. It helps boost our immune system, it connects others, it keeps oxygen flowing to our body, it helps our lungs and it gives us internal exercise. Children laugh 350-450 times per day, adults laugh maybe 15. See the difference?

4.   Make friends easily. I mean real people, not just Facebook friends. Go out and meet others in person. If the internet crashed tomorrow, how many real friends would you have? Friends boost our energy, help us live longer, give us a place to vent and bounce ideas off of and are a soft place to land if we do fall. One little girl just walked around with her arms open and gave kisses to everybody. Sometimes she would just stand there, arms spread with a wanting look in her eye and others would give her a hug.

5.   Free flowing movement, dance with abandon, run, skip, make a game out of what you’re doing and make it fun. Make a game out of cleaning your house – set a timer and see how fast you can do it, create competition, put on some music, ride your bike for errands, walk to the store, and invite others to join. One boy made a game of jumping from one colored marker on the dance floor to the other and did a happy dance when he made it across without touching the other colors. Sheer happiness and a celebration of success.

6.   Change directions, change activities when your energy is waning on one activity, to focus on another that will pump up your energy. When a child loses interest in something, they immediately change to something else that catches their eye. We adults call it a short attention span. I call it a smart move to keep your energy and enthusiasm up to pump up your resilience to life stressors. If you feel your energy draining, change directions to something new and feel the spark.

7.   Take new risks, try new things and learn from failures. We can’t win at everything, but when we lose, don’t lose the lesson. Have a beginner’s brain and try something new. I’ve have a pact with myself for the past 25 years to try something new each year and to learn something new – hang gliding, parasailing, moving to a new country, dog sledding, sky diving, bungee jumping or something a little lower key like starting a new business, taking a class, learning a new language or trying vegetarianism.

What are you doing to celebrate your successes? What are you doing to keep your energy and interest at its peak, build resilience, and stave off stress? How are you expanding your horizons and learning new things or taking new risks to be more childlike? What puts you in beginner’s brain to be open to new experiences? Now excuse me to go change activities….