Remember when you were a child and everything around you was
novel and beautiful, and filled you with a sense of awe? Unfortunately, the
demands of our lives — work, relationships, money, health concerns — cause all
of us to gradually lose that sense of wonder. But that’s not to say it’s lost
forever; here are eight simple ways to get it back:
1. Put yourself in unfamiliar situations.
The key is to try things that are really and truly new to
you. Learn a language, try an instrument you’ve always wanted to play or hit
the road. “Traveling to a new place, you become less competent,” Gunk says.
“You can’t order from the menu, you might get lost … the result from that is
you feel like you’re getting all this new information all at once, in the kind
of way that children [always] get new information all at once.”
2.
Embrace “explore” learning, not “exploit” learning.
“As adults, we tend
to focus on learning to solve problems we need to solve now,” Gunk says.
“Babies and youngsters don’t have problems they need to solve now, so their
energy seems to be focused on exploring different possibilities.” And therein
lies the difference between “explore” learning (which is learning for the sake
of learning) and “exploit” learning (learning with a clear end-goal or purpose).
Trying new things simply for the sake of trying new things forces you to think
in different ways.
3. Pick
up a creative hobby.
It’s hard to feel
curious and carefree when you spend most of your time on work, errands and
household tasks. That’s why it’s important to schedule in even just a few
moments a day to engage in an activity that you find creatively stimulating.
“When we ignite more creative experiences in our life, we
channel our inner child,” says Gabrielle Bernstein, author of Miracles Now and
a Huff Post blogger. “Creativity offers us freedom to be ourselves and let
loose!”
4. Look
up.
There’s a big world
around you, but it’s all too easy to get tunnel vision as you rush from one
activity to the next. Don’t. “As I’ve grown older, I forget to look up at the
sky. I walk through life staring at my phone screen, rushing to the next event
and therefore, missing out on life,” Bernstein says. Take a cue from kids, who
are pros at relishing their surroundings, and pause sporadically to check out
everything happening around you.
5.
Spend time with kids.
“I have a
two-and-a-half year old grandson now, and spending a day with him is to realize
how much richness there is [in the world],” Gunk says. Of course there are
times when, as a caretaker, you’ve simply got to get your kid dressed and out
the door. But when time allows you to “slow down and enjoy the zen of being
with children,” embrace the opportunity, Gunk urges.
“Count up how many experiments a 2- or 3- or 4-year-old does
in the space of five minutes,” she says. “If I could do that [much exploring]
in a year, I would feel like a really good scientist!”
6. Do
one thing mindfully, every day …
Mindfulness helps you
be truly in the moment, says New Jersey-based psychologist Leslie
Becker-Phelps, and that’s one of the things adults appreciate in young
children: “They are fully engaged in their experience, open to what it has to
offer.” Or, as Bernstein puts it: “Children are not worried about the past or
the future. In the present moment, you can truly experience life.”
It doesn’t need to be anything too time-consuming or formal.
“Bring your attention to your breath for a few breaths. Walk a short distance
with attention to how your body — the bottoms of your feet, your legs — feel as
you step. Chop one carrot with full attention to how the knife feels in your
hand and to the motion of cutting,” Becker-Phelps suggests.
7. …
And one thing every day “just because.”
Dance. Watch that TV
show you’ve been waiting to see. Meet up with a friend. Kids are forever doing
things simply because they want to. Follow their lead and do something every
single day for “no good reason beyond you wanting to do it,” Becker-Phelps
says. “Connect with your desire to explore and have certain experiences.”
8. Jot
down the good stuff.
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