Why is it that as we grow older, suddenly, we are no longer allowed to think or accomplish things as a child would? It is true that many children have an idealistic perception of life. The stories they hear and the friendships they have (i.e. the classic, "We'll be best friends forever!" outlook) influence their perception of the real world. Children have the ability to trust and not only make promises, but also believe in those promises. They have unfailing confidence in themselves, and they are unafraid of what other people think of them.
As we grow older, we lose these things. We are wronged by others and our trust falters. We are caught amidst a swarm of stress and anxiety. Why? Because the world is not the bright and happy place that we believed it was when we were children. When we face reality, we sometimes see that this idealistic perspective is ridiculous and invalid. Some adults believe that children are to be seen and not heard — that their dreams are fragile because dreams don't really come true in our reality, do they? Well... if you have that mindset, then there's no way your dream can come true. Right?
Children have a dare-to-be-anything mindset. If they believe it, then they can do it. Anything is possible to them, even something made-up like a unicorn princess or a space cowboy; if they imagine it, they can do it. To some, it may seem crazy, but children are some of the smartest people in the world.
Children have imaginative skills that can help them accomplish tasks in a more effective manner than grown adults. For example, during the marshmallow challenge, CEO's are often outperformed by kindergartners.
The Marshmallow Challenge was originally designed by Peter Skillman from TED. Kindergartners are open to many possibilities and often have the most creative and tallest products. According to Skillman, the worst performing group of people consisted of business graduates, who are often trained to complete tasks only one way. As we grow older, we lose imagination and creativity because the adult world tells us that there is only one right way to do things. But there is no one right way! "Look for a new angle," as said by Tadashi Hamada from the Disney movie, "Big Hero 6."
In addition to this imaginative mind, children also have this incredible philosophy about the world. They believe that it can be changed and that they can do their part to change it. Last year a video went viral. A mother was recording her daughter as she sat on the carpet steps in her house. The little girl's parents were currently in the process of going through a divorce, and throughout the video, she lectures her mother on making amends with her father. "I just want you and dad to find a place and be settled and be friends... I just want everyone to be friends," she says. If you haven't seen this, then you can watch it here.
What could we, as college students and adults, do if we thought this way? Why do we think that people aren't worth our time? Why do we think that if people treat us poorly that we must treat them the same way in return? We strive to make a difference in this world, so why is that so many of us continue to sit around as if waiting for someone to do it for us? What happened to the dream of becoming a unicorn princess or a space cowboy? It's impossible? How do you know that? Impossible is merely an excuse not to try.
Here's a challenge. Try having a childlike mindset. Be imaginative, creative and believe you can do anything you put your mind to. Pick your head up and have the confidence to be who you were meant to be without fear of what the world will think. Adversity will always be there to put us down, but we can stand up against it. It's time we start thinking like children again.
