Last Updated on March 13, 2024
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Why approach your work like a child? Exactly! Why should you? Because that’s the only way you can be true to what you do.
You know, I was holding up on this article thinking I should write an organized post after a lot of serious meditation and research. And then it struck me- that’s exactly the kind of think an adult would do!
Where’s the spontaneity, where’s the energy, where’s the vibrancy of the child if I were to write an article approaching it like a pompous adult?
So coming back to the question, why should you approach your work like a child ? Because …ah well, just read these reasons:
Children never give up
Doesn’t matter if a toddler doesn’t know to walk properly, he will climb up the steps, never once doubting his abilities. Imagine what would happen if the children began to question their ability everytime they failed or stopped just because they didn’t know anything about a subject? We would never have adults who spoke, walked, or even fed themselves! It all happened because as children we were able to not let failure come in our way, we literally kept trying till we succeeded.
Why use this approach at work?It makes us give our all to the work we are doing. It pushes us to try harder, and not get limited by defeat.
Children express themselves unabashedly
They can swing their arms and break into a jig in the middle of a crowded mall. Children scream when they see a friend across the street. Kids get excited and jump when they spot a double rainbow. They are simply not embarrassed. Children will never wonder “what will people think?”
Why use this approach at work? Imagine presenting ideas at a meeting with the same attitude. Just think how many new ideas we could put out in the universe if we could just let ourselves express without wondering about society.
Children are forever curious
From a tiny dust particle to the mighty sun, there is nothing that doesn’t catch a kid’s attention. They are curious about the world and fascinated by everything.
Why use this approach at work? Human being could never have gotten where they are without being curious. A person ages ago might have wondered what food burnt with fire tastes like- Kaboom! Cooking was born. If you need to create anything new at work, you need to stay as curious as a child.
Children find ways not to get bored
Ever seen a bored child? If a child gets bored for too long, the child will find ways to overcome the boredom. They sing at the top of their lungs, play patty cake, they do a summersault- they do anything to keep themselves occupied and make life more fun!
Why use this approach at work? Work can at times become repetitive or monotonous, no matter how much you love it. But try to add a dash of fun to it and suddenly you energise the whole workplace. Hum to yourself while replying to your email, make silly sounds when writing boring codes and suddenly everything seems so much brighter!
Children allow themselves to imagine
This point follows from the previous ones. The constraints of reality do not restrain children. They can turn a piece of twig to Thor’s hammer, or become rulers of the Frozen Realm by just wearing white clothes. They let their imagination run free. Children can take everyday things and turn them into something grander.
Why use this approach at work? Imagination and innovation are two sides of the same coin. If we do not imagine, we can never create. If we don’t look at a phone and and wonder if it can function as a computer too, a smartphone could never get born.
There are numerous ways by which you could get inspired by children and numerous reasons why you ought to approach your work like a child. But it really, it is just lightening up a bit. It is about having enough passion for everything you do to attempt it with your whole heart, is about having enough detachment to not let failures become obstacles to life.
So go ahead, smile a little, laugh a little, have a little fun. Observe, experiment, question, fail and win- and celebrate it all. Approach your work like a child to create a work culture you (and everyone at your workplace) is proud of. Don’t let growing up come in the way of being a child.
PS: “Approach your work like a child” was written based on inputs from Mahesh & Udhay – through and through children at heart 🙂 !
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