It may sound silly and unpractical, but think about all the situations that really upset you as a child or even situations that happened a couple years, months or weeks ago. Can you find laughter now that the storm has passed? Me, I am practicing shortening the period of time I spend being upset and finding laughter in tough situations. I am learning as a child from a child’s perspective and adopting key lessons from children’s world.

Have you ever talked to a child who is upset over a friend not wanting to play or who took a toy from them? Think for a minute about the tantrum, the screaming, the kicking and the tears. Now think about their reaction when this friend or another friend decides to play, or when a different toy is offered (with the unwavering potential to become) and became the new favorite. Immediately, hell turns to heaven, everything falls into place within a perfect world.

Haven’t we all been there as a child? How about as an adult? You are certainly thinking, well I don’t throw tantrums or I can’t throw a tantrum or in fact I can’t afford to throw a tantrum… Hmmmm…. is that really true? Or do we? Do we simply elevate our tantrums to a more passive but yet truly destructive level. We fuss in an adult way and delay our bounce back to happiness land.

Below are 7 fantastic/essential lessons we can all learn from children to make our life easier and to create and maintain our happiness on a continuous basis to make it a habit. These habits naturally keep children happy, they do it easily, SO CAN YOU!

Children:

1- Laugh at themselves

Often times we face some inconvenient and tough times that leave us speechless, too often I would say if you ask me. I agree, it is not easy to snap out of these situations “Imagine my kids eating ice cream, then SPLASH drop it on their clothes, as a mom I see a mess to clean up, but they are laughing because it’s cold and tickling their body.”

Although it may not be your first reaction, making the conscious effort to find humor in everyday situations is THE key. Most of the times those situations make you feel like the world is ending such as: hitting your elbow (funny bone) or your big toe, dropping your food and have the dog beat you to it as you try to follow the three (3) seconds rules, stepping on a Lego or standing still at a green light behind a slow driver while you are rushing to make it to work on time, (road rage in action 😡).

If you try and see a little humor in these you might just see for yourself that Mark Twain was right when he wrote “Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand”.

2- Cherish fun behaviors

I like to refer to these fun times as “childish behaviors” (which I had to learn, because I was more on the serious side as a child lol). When I need to feel free and clear my mind, I get in my childish mode, in my kids’ world (easier now for having little ones).  Look at children playing, listen to the noise they make, their facial expressions and get into their world. They are free, free of the world’s judgement, free of physical appearance, free of worries, free to enjoy life and laughter.

Emulate that, be free, reminisce and enjoy the first few years of life where your imagination and your notion of fun were limitless. Run barefoot, make funny noises, make funny faces, burst out singing and dancing like nobody was watching, … Just live and be yourself! Be happy by doing the things you love

3- Know what they want

Have you ever dealt with a child who wanted a piece of candy or a toy? It’s like a song on repeat and fast forward at the same time. It is soul crunchingly annoying, but absolutely funny in hindsight. You can hardly change their mind or trick them, their whole world just shifted and their energy is focused and they will do everything to get it.

  It doesn’t matter how many pieces of candy or toys they had a minute ago, nor that Halloween or Christmas is next week, right here right now, they want what they want and they know it. Whether they will get it is another story. Do you really know what you want and focused all your energy to get it or even allow yourself to express it without guilt, shame or fear?

Take time to know and understand what you want. Then own it, be proud of it, devote time and energy and be confident into obtaining it.

 4- Don’t stay upset too long

It amazes me how upset a child can get over little things (we adults do to, chocking! Lol). However, they speedily move on to the next best thing without looking back and if they do, it is often times to show how great the new one is and it is in fact “The best ever!“.

We all, at some point in time, have wasted an hour or even lost sleep over someone or something that upset us. We often linger and look at the “why it happened?” instead of the most important “How to move forward?“. In this process, we waste the one thing that we can never get back “Time”. Understand that it is okay to be upset if you must to blow off steam and express your feelings but keep it short, keep it only to that limited moment needed to address it, then take control of you happiness by moving on to the next blessing in your life.

5- Hold tight to their little pleasures

If it was up to him or her, a child’s favorite food would be on the menu for breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner (at least my kids would, lol). It is the exact same thing with their favorite game, outfit, toys, etc. They like it, they enjoy it so they make it happen or ask incessantly for it.

 Do you have one snack, food or dessert that you can always eat at any time of the day even if you are full? Well I do! And I hope you do too! Do you hold on to the things that make you happy or that bring a smile on your face or make your heart jump? Whether it is quality time, your favorite dessert or snack, a nice walk, reading, writing, shopping…Know what brings you happiness and keep it close.

6- Have fun trying new things

A few of the major killers of growth are ” staying in your comfort zone, enjoying the known and holding on to the used to“. They keep us from venturing to the new, the exciting although often times looking scary, uncertain, difficult and yet so exciting and rewarding. One thing I always remind my kids when they are pulling back from doing something new is “Think about all the fun you will have and how you will be able brag about it!”. Why? Because I have seen them do it countless time. Do I always apply it myself? Unfortunately no. Should I? Absolutely, yes! And so should YOU!

Think of a child being encouraged to climb on top of the monkey bar or even going to the dentist for a moment. Now, think of their reaction when it is all over, they usually can’t stop talking about what they have done without emphasizing the dangers and how they held on until the end. Be your own coach to tame your worries and fears and be your own cheerleader to encourage to set the sky and beyond as your limit.

7- Express themselves honestly

Nobody tells the truth naked and straight forward more than a child. They do not process the need for diplomacy nor sugarcoating their statement as these behaviors are learned. We teach kids to be nice, to tell the truth and to be considerate of others and finding balance in between is crucial.  Now let’s gain this ability back by learning from them how to express our feeling as raw as we experience them without filter or senseless self-judgment.

Children will tell you without feeling bad (or trying to make you feel bad) that they like your shirt and think it is ugly, you look like a cartoon character, or how they think that this hairdo is funny , and move on without another thought. Can you do that without adding a little sugar on the mix?

They embrace their truth, their opinion and understand that it may not be everybody’s without having to feel bad nor having to drop their truths or beliefs to please others.

We always worry about what people will think if we open up and state how we really feel or what we think, “our truth”. We feel the need to match someone else expectations into what we want to express for our own gain which often result in frustration and dissatisfaction.

Being respectful and considerate does not mean to give up your truth and beliefs.

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