Thursday, April 29, 2010

I Forgot To Grow Up

TIP:  Enjoy life like kids do and "forget" to grow up now and then.

THOUGHTS:  Man, the older I get, the more I realize that I shouldn't take life or myself so seriously.  Remember when you were a kid and all you worried about was when the Flintstones was on next?  Or, if you could con your mom into buying you some of that Fruit Stripe gum.  You know the kind that lost its flavor 30 seconds after popping it in your mouth (but that 30 seconds was pure deliciousness, huh!).

I've got young kids and it is fun for me to listen to them talk when they think I can't hear them.  Sure, they pick on each other and fight over who gets to eat the last of the red Starbursts (rightfully so...red is the bestest).  But, to listen to them approach life with little to next to no cares in the world, is so refreshing.  It reminds me that the things in my life that seem to be important, probably aren't.  While listening to them, I think "what if I just "forgot" to grow up for a while?" 

I'm not talking about shirking our responsibilities or being juvenile and giving our coworkers wedgies (not gonna lie that would be funny though).  I'm just saying, let's put things in to the perspective of a kid and just enjoy life a little more. 

That project your working will probably get done....sooner rather than later.  The money will come.  The faucet will get fixed.  The house will sell.  You'll get the call about the interview.  The promotion will happen.  And, so on....


ACTION STEP:  Grab a piece of Fruit Stripe gum (or any gum you have handy)...pop it in your mouth while thinking of something stressful to you.  By the time it loses its flavor, you can spit out the worry along with the spent piece.  Even if it is some of the newer gum out there that lasts "longer," you most likely won't chew on it too long.  Then, forget to grow up for a minute and enjoy life like kids do.  If needed, plow through a whole pack until all your worries are wadded up in the trash can...