What can children tell you about emotional well-being in the workplace?

Yesterday I was looking after a two-year-old child for the day and watching their emotions react to the situation and to the way I dealt with it.

“No, we can't go on the trampoline now, it is too dark in the garden!”

Loud shouts of crying from the child, I notice my internal contractions and I stepped back from my reactions and give space for a different response.

Yea I reply “it is frustrating when we can’t do the things we want isn’t it?” In an energetic and slow-paced voice.

“Look at that it’s a ball,” I say to the child. The child runs to the ball, tears stop and play resumes, kind of simple! Is he lost in the past about the trampoline, not at that moment, does he care about his tears and emotional response, did not seem like it. Was he happy playing with the ball, it looked like it to me.

Notice how we can help

each other in our well-being.

The child reminds me to observe rather than react and I remind the child that they can have his emotional response and move their attention from the problem to the solution.

Without fully knowing it the child is practising mindfulness, rather simple:-

Take the focus off the problem, acknowledge the feelings, move the attention and find another response to the situation.

Repeat and at some point or even now if you like - you can notice attention itself and that is where I feel peaceful. For me, the gift of being an adult is that you can consciously recognise this, your well-being and the well-being of the people around you depends on this.

Sometimes we need some help with this as adults if we forgot how to play, this is what I help executives and organisation do to the PlayfulMonk programs. So they can kick around the ball of attention and create workspaces where it is okay to share and care with purpose and passion for oneself and the benefit of everybody around them.