9 Ways to Be the Person You Wanted to Be as a Kid
We may have dreamed of castles and flying carpets as kids, but what we really wanted was a lot simpler: We wanted adventure, possibility, fun, and a few good friends to share it with. Regardless of how your life looks now, you can have those things. It starts with how you choose to be today, and what you choose to do with what you have.
1. Play.
That’s how you learned back then. You explored and tried on different hats, and rarely said the word “can’t” unless your mom was calling you in for dinner. If something sounded fun, you were game.
Open up to fun again. Be silly, playful, creative, curious, excited, adventurous, and open. Give your overworked adult mind a break and enjoy experimenting. Finding new possibilities isn’t a cerebral experience. The only way to create a life that will bring you joy is to use your joy as a compass.
2. Invite the new kid to your table at lunch.
Okay, maybe you didn’t do this one. We all wanted to belong back then, and that usually meant staying with the group. But sometimes it backfired on you. Sometimes the new kid was fun. Sometimes the new kid was a great friend. Sometimes the new kid had parents who rented bounce houses for their birthdays.
If you only allow yourself to interact with people you know and trust, your world will remain small, albeit manageable. You never know what experiences new acquaintances might introduce you to—and you never know when an acquaintance may turn into a friend that feels like home.
3. Don’t ditch gym class.
It was in the curriculum for a reason: it’s good for you. Shocker, I know! Dodge ball was more than just an opportunity to knock your friends out and be the last kid standing. It got your blood pumping, gave you an energy outlet, and increased your overall health.
You can’t do anything in life if you’re too sluggish to get off your couch. This is nothing new—we all know that exercise is good for us. If you need additional motivation not to sit on the bench, consider these hidden benefits of exercise: research has shown even moderate exercise can boost the immune system and prevent chronic illness.
4. Don’t jump off a bridge just because your friends are doing it.
You don’t want to think of people you love as negative, complacent, or stagnant, but many of them probably are. Thoreau said the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation—and as bleak as that may sound, there’s some truth to it. The majority of people don’t do what they want to do, and feel most comfortable surrounding themselves with similar people.
Don’t be a similar person. Love and accept them as they are, but decide to do it differently. There’s no good reason to be quietly desperate when you can be boldly satisfied. That’s not to say achieving what you want will be easy; but you will respect and admire yourself more when you’re actively living out loud, if not yet in results, in the process.
Whenever a person is responsible for making me feel a profound emotion, I will do some type of art inspired by it and name it after the person.
Instead of talking negatively about the person, which I feel is just bad karma, I will let out my emotions and what I would of said into this art work.
If its a negative emotion, I’ll probably give it away to someone on the street.
I actually I did it today, on this ceramic pipe thing I found in a pile of rubble where a building use to be.
Whenever I’m not lazy I’ll upload it :D
Today was a happy and pleasant day, I also successfully drew my dream flower!
I felt a subtle change in myself today, I truly didn’t care about the opinions of others around me. I wasn’t critical on myself in the least and I even wasn’t nervous to speak up in class today (which I participated quite a lot).
I no longer fear,
anything.
12 Elements of Emotional Intelligence
The first element of emotional intelligence is empathy. The ability to understand what other people are feeling will make you more sensitive and aware and will result in more meaningful relationships.
The second element is the recognition that your actions have consequences. This understanding will enable you to make conscious choices in your life and to avoid unnecessary difficulties.
Third on the list is good judgment. The gift of making well-thought-out decisions and seeing people for who they really are will maximize the possibilities of success in all areas of your life.
Number four is personal responsibility. When you hold yourself accountable and don’t blame anyone else for your mistakes or misfortunes, you are empowered to change things for the better. Other people respect you, because you own up to your part in your relationships.
The fifth element is insight. The ability to see yourself clearly and to understand your own motivations allows for the possibility of personal growth. Insight into others allows you to have a greater impact in your relationships.
Element number six is mental flexibility. Being able to change your mind or to see things from different points of view makes it possible for you to navigate all sorts of relationships and to succeed where other, more rigid thinkers would fail.
The seventh element is compassion. Being honest with yourself can be painful but with a kind and gentle attitude, it’s much easier. This type of compassion facilitates personal transformation, while compassion toward others supports deeper, more loving connections.
The eighth element is integrity. Following through on commitments and keeping your promises creates much good-will in personal and professional relationships and promotes success in both arenas.
Ninth on the list is impulse control. Thinking before speaking or acting gives you a chance to make deliberate, even sophisticated choices about how you present yourself to others. Not acting out of primitive impulses, urges or emotions avoids social embarrassment.
The tenth element is the ability to defer gratification. It’s one thing to want something but the ability to put off having it is empowering. Mastery of your needs allows you to prioritize around life goals.
Number eleven on the list is perseverance. Sticking with something, especially when it’s challenging, allows you to see it through to completion and demonstrates to others that you are dependable and potentially a high achiever.
The twelfth and final element is courage. Emotional courage (as opposed to the physical variety) is the ability to do the right thing, see the truth, open your heart and trust yourself and others enough to be vulnerable, even if all this is frightening. This causes others hold you in high regard.
© Marcia Sirota 2010 For More about Dr Sirota, Please visit her website:http://www.ruthlesscompassioninstitute.com
Feed Your Mind
It’s not enough to workout.
It’s not enough to show up at events.
And it’s not even enough to blog daily.
If you’re putting in the effort to feed your body the proper fuel it needs to function at its maximum potential then you should be willing to put in just as much effort to feed your mind in order to grow as a person.
Only then do you gain the knowledge and confidence to lead. Once you manage to possess those learned skills with more and more experience, only then can you lead leaders and make an impact in this world.
So tell me, what are you doing to better yourself?
