My New Year...lessons from a Child!

I thought long and hard about this one. I really did!

My daughter has been quite an influence on me! She is 3years and 8months old and watching her grow has taught me a few lessons, not new lessons, these are the very same actions and feelings (or innocence) we grew up with. (This is not just what I see in my child, Iam writing about all the children) It saddens me to think that my child will grow up too and become ‘One of Us’, she too will soon forget her ‘Childhood’ and be consumed by pressure – from parents, teachers and peers, well, that’s the way life is! (You might say it too). I will be practical here and enjoy the present, ‘live in the moment’!

Iam now tempted to attempt to relive the childhood days based on the 5E’s that are constantly exhibited by my child (All children, actually)… Energy, Enthusiasm, Excitement, Expression and Experimentation…in no particular order!

My daughter exhibits boundless energy through the day, always experimenting (that’s how children learn, actually, all of us), expresses her feelings in a not-so-diplomatic or complicated way, excited about small successes (like completing her dinner on time or a glass of milk etc) and enthusiastic about being at home, a small trip in the car or just plain ‘going shopping’! There is a sense of adventure in every small experiment (like trying to use colors on the walls…which is a no-no) which eventually leads to ‘big learning’!

There is celebration for small successes; there is excitement/enthusiasm about a small gift (ranging from a pencil to a dairy milk chocolate) and innocence in expression. She is so persistent, so open, so playful, and so curious/inquisitive…so right in what she thinks or does (we actually put in the sense of judgment). She sleeps when she wants/needs to, eats when she wants/needs to, plays when she wants/needs to, basically she does what she wants to (till we tell her)!

Let’s isolate the thoughts of teaching her/them (the children) the ‘Rights and Wrongs’ (really, there is no definition, there is just acceptance) of life, I agree we need to guide them! Let’s look at the actions from a pure view point of what they actually mean. This view gives me clear insight into my day to day actions that are filled with ‘Expectations’, mine and the others’. Every action of mine is ruled by the intentions, actions, expectations and orientation of others. Then there is also social, professional and personal classifications of class, authority, power etc. Iam beginning to wonder if Iam living my life or it’s like in the movie ‘Matrix’, where everything is programmed and it is like an action sequence pulled over our eyes to view.

What does it take for me (us) to cry when we want to, laugh when we want to, play when we want to and basically live like we want to? I have no answers, maybe we are incorrigible or maybe that’s how nature willed us to grow. We have our own set of (pure) feelings with different definitions. We hurt the ones who matter the most (because of mindless expectations and misplaced priorities) and we treat everyone else (some insignificant and some significant) with respect and social etiquette. Why?

I leant the art of ‘why-why’ analysis from six-sigma tools about 8 years ago and more recently from my daughter!

This New Year I want to (I will attempt to) exhibit the 5Es and say FOFF (we use it every day) to anything that comes in the way of my dream and I… I have the license to dream, Iam a born dreamer, a Piscean!! (That’s probably the 1st thing all of us would say when we hear ‘Piscean’ … so conditioned!!)