Releasing Your Inner Child

weekly radish 50

3 tips to releasing your inner child

In this week’s video, I share three ways to get back in touch with that inner child - you know that silly, playful, in the moment part of you that you put away all those years ago in order to ‘grow up’.

The Weekly Radish is coming to up to it’s one year birthday! I will be moving onto a new project at that point, so keep an eye out for more information on my ‘Man Sprouts Project’ (check it out at www.mansprouts.com).  More of that in future videos.  For now, watch and learn why a daily mindfulness or meditation practice can be vital to your wellbeing.

Missed some of the weekly radish videos? Check out the Weekly Radish Play list here.  

Keep an eye out for the next blog.

Dave
Dave Algeo,
Stress(ed) Guru Speaker, trainer and 'Men's Burnout+ Coach (coaching from burnout to break-through)
dave@stressedguru.com
Helping you create success with (not at the expense of) wellbeing.

Transcript:

- Release your inner child. Welcome to this week's Weekly Radish. And this is a subject that's close to my heart, because one of the things that I find that stress has done for me in the past, and for many people I work with, is that it robs you of that sense of glee, joy, silliness in life. And actually, let's face it, growing up and becoming an adult, and taking on responsibilities, and cares, and demands kind of means you have to put away those things that we used to do as children. We have to get serious. We have to do things with a point. We have to work towards things. And actually, whilst that's important, too much of it, like anything, can be a bad thing. And actually, we need to tap back in sometimes to the things that we used to enjoy as a child, the things that made us just laugh, giggle, or we lost ourselves in. So here's three things to reflect on to help you reclaim that inner child, that sense of childishness that is still within you, albeit well-hidden. Number one. Think of something you used to love doing as a child that didn't have a point, that wasn't for anybody else. But you just loved it. You got so engrossed in it. You got so lost in time with it, that you just enjoyed. What was that thing? Well, for me, it was playing with LEGO. I could while away hours playing with LEGO, and create things, knock them down, rebuild them. That was for me. What was it for you, what were those things? And it might sound a bit strange. And sometimes being a parent can give you the excuse to go back to these things. But get that LEGO box out, get that thing out, and start doing it again. Colouring in. There's even adult colouring books these days. Something that is so absorbing that you used to love doing. What was it, and bring it back in a small dose more regularly in your life now. Number two. Do you remember when you just did nothing? Do you ever remember that when you just did nothing? When you would sit upside down on the couch for no reason, and just sat there for no reason, doing nothing. When was the last time you ever did nothing? It's something that's conditioned out of us. Something to feel bad about and guilty for 'cause we're not productive, we're not getting things done. There's so many more things you could do. But actually, why not? Actually stopping, slowing down, and doing nothing is incredibly good for us. And as children, we could do that. We could do that so naturally. So build a bit of just doing nothing back into your day. Deal with the emotions, deal with the sense of guilt, get over that, and keep the practise up 'cause it could be so beneficial. Number three. Controversial one, have a tantrum. Now I know the difference between a child having a tantrum and you as an adult having a tantrum could mean the difference between more things getting smashed and what have you. I'm not talking about being destructive here, or doing something dangerous or harmful to somebody else. But you remember when as a child, if something didn't go your way, you just flopped down on the floor and cried, or shouted, or screamed. You let it out. And that's what I'm talking about here. I'm talking about be safe. Don't put anybody, including yourself, at risk. Don't damage things, but let the emotion out. As adults, we're conditioned to keep it in, to bottle it up, to not express our emotions 'cause it's seen as a childish thing, or bad thing, or that we can't cope. But as I've talked about in previous Weekly Radish around emotional coping, emotions are powerful, powerful things. They're not there to be ignored. And sometimes we just need to go with it in a safe secure environment, and just let it out, the good and the not so good. So there's my three tips to help you tune in to your inner child. One, remember the things that you used to just love doing, and pick one of those back up and start doing it again. Two, do nothing more. Do nothing more often. Do nothing like you did as a child. And number three, have a tantrum. Have a tantrum safely and securely, but let the emotion out, the good and the not so good. And let yourself experience what that feels like.