Recently I turned 40 and as it happens with every growing milestone, became more

introspective about what�s achieved, lost and the future. Surprisingly, some of the
lessons that I learnt came from an unexpected source - my 3-year-old son. So, here
are 3 important lessons that I learnt from my kid -

Lesson 1 - Optimism & Perseverance

We were visiting a clinic to consult the doctor for my son�s infection. Both of us
were standing outside the clinic, watching vehicles & passing time until our
appointment. Red buses fascinate my son. However, as we stood there for 10 minutes,
only a stream of white buses passed by. Giving up, I suggested we go inside the
clinic since I thought we would not be able to see any red bus. But my son insisted
that we should hang on for some more time, as he was positive that a red bus would
come. And voila, there we saw a red bus nearing the stop; with many more follow
through�our joy knew no bounds.

A simple scenario like this made me realize two things - as adults, how negative
we have become, leading us to quickly conclude that things will not work, and thus
giving up. �Hang in there� is what we hear all the time but how to do that with the
required patience is something that we can learn from our kids.

Lesson 2 - Awareness and Mindfulness

A typical day of my son involves going to playgroup, playing by himself, with

friends, with us [parents], eating and of course, in this digital age, watching TV
and playing games on tablet or mobile. While I observe him during the day, every
moment he spends, he is totally aware and involved in his activities. I am sure the
same will be true for many kids of his age. They neither worry about what happened
an hour back nor keep thinking about what�s going to happen an hour later. They
will be busy with whatever they have in hand, at that moment, be it blocks, Legos,
tablet, TV or a drawing.

Most kids are notorious when it comes to eating, especially when they are made to
sit in one place and are fed the 'most nutritious food'. This creates a storm and
confusion in their mind. Similarly, we adults do things that we don�t like almost
every day. That results in distress, misery & anger, subsequently resulting in a
distasteful outcome. How can we focus on a moment when we are not living that
moment? Doing things that we like at any moment can make us more attentive and
mindful of the moment.

Lesson 3 - Let Go

Move on�. life is too big and too long to stress about any thing, literally. That�s
what I learnt when I saw my son not wondering about why we did not purchase the toy
he liked or unfortunately, when we, as parents, are not available to play with him
when he wants us to. He will make a fuss about it, even cry loudly, but after some
time he will move on to other things that he likes to do. His mind is also not
capable of keeping a grudge against someone for a long time. We, as adults, worry
about issues that are transitory and fight endlessly. The reason, being, the kid
knows ten things that he likes and is ready to juggle between them, whatever makes
him happy. As for us adults, our happiness task list does not even occupy all the
fingers in our hands. We expect things to work in a certain way and when they do
not, continue to resent and grieve over it for a long time.

The growth of negativity, stress, and anxiety is directly proportional to age.

Instead of learning from kids, we tend to force them to do things that they don�t
like, and become more like us.

The child is the father of the man, but in this highly tumultuous, competitive and
dynamic world, it is time that the child becomes the mentor, philosopher and guide
to the man. We need our kids and scenarios like these to bring us back to life.

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Positive Psychology
Life Transitions
Transformations