“Through the Eyes of a Child: 5 life lessons for Adults”

Earlier this month, I was out of Stockholm for a week, for some education. I was supposed to write an exam on the last day and had a late evening flight same day. I knew the kids would be asleep when I reach home. So, before flying back, I called home and spoke to my family.

Among other things I also told my daughter that I was feeling low as I couldn’t pass the exam.

I reached home quite late. I tiptoed inside. And was surprisingly greeted, my daughter Vihana with a warm hug and this beautiful card. (See above picture).

See literal translation from Swedish to English below.

“I love you, even if you don’t pass the test, always.“

“I am here for you, you are the best & I can do all to make you happy. :)”

The tiredness and dejection from being away for a week and unable to pass test was still there. Yet, somehow after seeing this card I felt much lighter and glad.

(”Note – I don’t know what she meant by ‘you don’t pass the test ALWAYS‘. Maybe she thinks I am such a L’ :) ”

Later during the week, I pondered about this. I retrospected all the great things we adults, can learn from our kids.

With almost 4 decades of existence on this planet, I’ve amassed lots of experiences and thoughts. I’ve also had the chance to work with some of the brightest minds across the globe. Yet, some of the profound lessons I’ve learned have come from totally unexpected sources.

Here are the top 5 insights that come to my mind when learning from children.

1. Compassionate empathy.

”Its not what you say or do to other’s but how you make them feel is all that matters” — Read somewhere.

Compassionate empathy goes beyond the definition of empathy which is to feel and share someone else’s pain. Its about putting yourselves in your friends shoes and than doing something to make them feel better. For instance, if a friend is experiencing a difficult period, compassionate empathy not only involves understanding and feeling their sadness. It also means actively finding ways to help them feel better. This could be through offering a listening ear or providing practical help.

In this case it was my daughter listening and taking action to do something about it.

For all of us leaders, it is now more important than ever to have compassionate empathy. A little more of compassionate empathy towards people we lead will go a long way. The world and businesses are changing at a lightning speed, instant gratification is what most people are after. Small failures and not achieving desired results often make people dejected.

Learning compassionate empathy from kids and putting yourself in others shoes will go a long way.

2. Seeing things as they are.

As per research, kids till 14 years of age has the most lucid dreams and have the wildest fantasies. Before the hormone’s start kicking in :). They spend most of the awake time in their own world. They daydream. I often call it being in ‘La la land’.

But they also have this innate ability to see the things as they are, without the constraints that often limit adults. They only see things in binary format 0 or 1. They do not see things through multiple lenses. Unfortunately, we adults have mastered seeing things through multiple lenses over many years of conditioning and through the education system. I personally often get into this ‘Paralysis by analysis’ state when i start looking things through multiple lenses.

Learning this mindset can help us to avoid overthink and wear a doer’s mindset. In businesses, where complex problems require quick and innovative solutions, tapping into this trait can lead to quick outcomes.

3. Resilience.

Kids are very resilient. Over a course of day they fall, get up and repeat this process multiple times until they succeed. My 8 year old son loves swimming and has been learning since 3 year old. Since last year, he has been trying to get 23 seconds for 25 mt. butterfly stroke. After so many failures and training sessions he finally managed to get it and now have eyes on next target. I would have given up easily after a couple of failed attempts.

This resilient mindset is something we can always learn from them and imbibe in ourselves and the teams we lead. By encouraging this mindset, we can quickly learn from our mistakes and finally get things done.

4. Curiosity and adaptability.

Almost every question kids have been asking us since toddler was a ‘Why’, ‘What’ or ‘How’ question. They have this innate curiosity to just question every and anything. The relentless pursuit of understanding drives us to uncover root problems. This itch to question everything helps develop the right solutions to them.

In the workplace, leaders can imbibe this culture of curiosity, encouraging them to ask questions. This can help explore new ideas, uncover new solutions that might be otherwise overlooked upon. I personally believe we must have healthy debates and brainstorming at the workplace. If everyone just complies, we are doing something terribly wrong.

Kids are also very adaptable as well and quickly adjust to new situations thrown their way.

Personally, i work in a rapidly changing tech. industry, the ability to adapt is essential. Embracing change is important. Being open to new ways of working helps us stay ahead. This keeps us competitive. When we have this adaptable culture in our workplaces, we can stay flexible. We stay open-minded and capable of navigating the ever-changing business landscape.

5. Joy and living in the moment.

I have seen my kids find joy and happiness in the simplest of things. They jump down from the couch, roll in snow, and jump in muddy puddles. Their joy and laughter doing such activities is so contagious.

Each and everything they do is far away from the guilty of past or worries of future. They are so engrossed in whatever mundane thing they be doing, it the most important from them.

This has for sure taught me the value of bringing joy to workplace. We as leaders can definitely improve morale by bringing joy into the workplace. This can also increase productivity and create a positive work environment. It could be as small as celebrating a project milestone with team lunch. Or, it could simply mean having a hearty laugh with your colleagues at work.

“Small joys of life, isn’t it”.

In Conclusion, we adults might have arrived a few decades earlier on this planet than our kids. We might have gone through this specially crafted education system. We might have a bunch of more degrees and life experiences then our kids. This doesn’t mean that we know better than them ??.

We are the ones teaching and guiding our children but have also so much to teach us as well. By embracing compassionate empathy, we can all improve ourselves. Resilience, living in the moment, and curiosity also help us become better personally and professionally. As we move forward in our careers, let’s remember to look to our children for inspiration.

I am sure there are many more things we can learn from our kids. If there are any other insights you have come across, I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Do comment.

//Love & Peace,

CA.

#c