Become Child-like
posted in World of Work |My husband and I were having dinner with a few friends, who also happen to be business associates, the other night. As we were eating we were sharing ideas and stories.
One gentleman who owns his own business said that he dislikes talking to his father on the phone because no matter how well business is going his father always has something negative to say. He also said that whenever he shares his ideas for new business with his father, his father always focuses on the potential problems and declares, “That will never work.”
Everyone around the table could relate. Not all of us have parents who shoot us down, but we all knew someone who was ready to squash our ideas and dreams the moment we shared our vision.
But, what was interesting was that those of us who were parents ourselves (our kids ranged in age from 13-21) all agreed that when we share our ideas and dreams with our children not one of them shoots us down. Quite the contrary. Most of the time our kids are our biggest supporters and they often come up with additional ideas to incorporate into our vision.
As my friends and I discussed this we agreed that as we grow into adulthood we tend to become jaded and less free-thinking. We filter information through our life’s experiences and what we have witnessed in others. Unfortunately, this filtering can make us negative and much less willing to take risks.
What we need to realize is that taking risks is what often leads to great successes. And if in taking a risk we fail, we need to embrace that failure as a learning and growth opportunity by which we refine our efforts for the next attempt.
We also need to encourage those around us when they take us into their confidence by sharing their visions and ideas. Unless we are specifically asked to do so, it is not our job to look for the potential setbacks or problems and deflate someone’s dream. We are much more valuable when we cheer others on and root for their success.
Choose a Better Life by choosing to be child-like. Take risks and be supportive to others who do the same.