Why can’t we do things as adults like we played as kids – with reckless abandon? If you watch kids closely, they are really amazing in terms of what they will do and what they will try. It’s as though they have no fear. The idea of failure doesn’t seem to ever enter their minds. Sure they fail, but they get right back up as though it never happened.
Somehow as we grow up we are taught to fear things. We are told to be careful – a lot – and if we make mistakes we can often be punished, scolded, put on the bench, sent to our room, grounded…. you get the idea. These consequences can breed fear… fear of doing things wrong… fear of failure. Fear can lead to paralysis. How can we possibly achieve when the risk of failure and consequences is so high? We are taught to play it safe.
However, if we want to achieve great things, we need to take some lessons from our childhood and play with reckless abandon. We need to fail and get back up, like a kid.