Often on weekends I try to sneak away from the house with my daughter, to explore for her sake, just as much as mine. While up at the park, I found her in a little project of her own, which made me laugh and think introspectively.
Thank goodness for the innocence of children and how they enjoy the simple things in life. We all need a little of that these days! One of the things I love about being a mom is that I get to go back in time and see from a new lens - a private one-on-one viewpoint, which was different from how I grew up as the oldest of 7 kids. Since I am now not 1 of 7, I am one-on-one with my daughter, sometimes I think I tend to enjoy the toys and activities more than she does, but I know she will appreciate that time spent later on in life!
These days at the park, she doesn't need or want my help up at the top of the "big girl" slide. This time at the park, she wanted to push trucks and cars down the slide, watching them slide and drop, studying the act before her.
I often find myself enjoying the moment, not fully understanding her reasoning behind it (not that there needs to be a lesson) but for some reason it resonating with me that weekend, since I had just finished some work related tasks involving social media marketing, analyzing of data, researching on features (staying as hip as I can be with new technology) within some of the platforms we use; which can be a process of testing, studying, attempting, testing again. I suppose it isn't that much different from what my daughter was practicing that day at the park. I suppose anyone who is involved in something new, that they are either tasked with at work or self motivated to try, there is always a sequence of trying, testing and reviewing the results. Maybe you know why at the time, maybe you don't and that is ok.
This can certainly be true in the post pandemic era as The Wall Street Journal reports: about 47% of parents with children who are learning entirely remotely or are in hybrid situations because of the coronavirus pandemic are working full-time, compared with 71% of parents whose children are physically back in school buildings, according to results of the Franklin Templeton-Gallup Economics of Recovery Study released Tuesday. So many of us are being pushed to try and test new things on a daily basis.
Both friends and clients report back to me as of late that the pandemic has certainly caused a whole new world of duties at home and at work, on a constant basis BUT has also allowed for them to slow down and appreciate the family and friends around them as well. They don't regret the latter part of this new experience.
But this doesn't mean that this whole post pandemic world hasn't pushed our creativity to a breaking point at times.
My point today as I write this "Lesson from a Peanut" is to give yourself some grace and know that you are not alone in this and many others out there are in the same boat so we have to keep doing our best. Being at the park that day, reminded me to:
💠 Stay curious.
💠 Keep trying new things, even if the first, second, third sets of results are not what you expected.
💠 Listen and watch those around you with patience.
💠 Try to imagine through an innocent lens and try to see all sides of the scenario.
As a parent or a business owner, we try to stay curious and learn, to keep trying new things even if they are unpleasant at times. Try to implement new strategies at home or in the workplace, by seeing the pros and cons from both sides. Always keep learning and don't forget to give yourself a break and some grace as we are all in this together!