The Child Within
12 January 2012
By Simon Starr
I have a quote stuck on a shelf that says "while we are teaching our children all about life, our children are teaching us what life is all about".
As a father of four children aged 7,9,10 & 12 I am privileged to constantly witness this. Last night my 9 year old wrapped his arms around me as he was saying good night and asked, "Daddy, do you have to work this weekend?"
"A little bit this weekend buddy, it's my weekend on. Why do you ask?"
Without hesitation and a glint in his eye he said, "We want to have a water-bomb war with you!!"
As I quickly digested his request my mind raced over previous water bomb wars we'd had and one thought jumped into my head, "Yep, that would be a lot of fun!".
Fun. Gee, there's something we lose the knack of as we get older and life gets more 'serious'. Children are great at fun because fun is spontaneous. Fun is being in the moment, uninhibited, and unsure of exactly what is going to happen next. Fun often involves trying something new, or taking a different tack. It's exploratory, it's creative, it's risk taking and it is play.
Fun equals growth.
Sadly, this is often the exact opposite to a typical working day. It is planned, structured, ordered, timed, and predictable. And all work days need an element of this. But how much is too much and at what point do you start losing the creativity, the exploring, and the play that makes your business, career, sports team or life unique?
Good performance always needs balance. To get the most out of yourself, your business or your team, make sure there is a healthy dose of fun to it all. Slow down; encourage play; and value the child within. They really do have something to offer you.
Simon is a father of 4, husband of 1, performance coach and occasional motivational speaker. He believes that the uniqueness of everyone, every team and every business is very powerful.
© Simon Starr 2012.
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